If It Went This Way
by Dead Uchiha
Summary: DISCONTINUED--may be rewritten one day Obito returns to Konoha after ten years spent as a missing nin. He's punished by being forced to take on a team of genin. Chaos ensues. XD Mwahahahaha!
1. If It Went This Way

DISCLAIMER…or whatever: um, yeah…if I owned Naruto, I would say screw college and just do nothing but Naruto all day long…snicker

SPIOLERS: If you don't know who Obito is, then this might spoil something for you…but since its AU, I'm not really concerned about that.

NOTE: In this story, Obito is alive and Kakashi is dead. Sorry no KakaIru. Perhaps some angst? I don't know, I'm just writing this as a side thing between ridiculously long chapters of another yummy fic (yet to be posted).

First posted fic…be gentile with me I'm fragile. _Doe eyes_

Who wants NaruSasu? I know I do, but I will let the people decide…..maybe…._evil grin_

WARNINGS: Language and violence…nothing too naughty...yet. Um….spoilers….Hmmm….ugh…._don't think so_….oh well….

Enough of my idiot babbling…on with the friggin' story!

If It Went This Way…

Konoha was peaceful. Just like yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that, and the day before that. It had been this way for more than twelve years now. The people now expected it to always be this way. They'd grown fat and self-righteous in their security. They'd all become victims of a charmed, idealistic, life. They'd become victims of the peace.

No one had even questioned the stranger as he made his way through the bustling streets of the marketplace. No one cared about the bundle he carried under his arm. It had been easy enough for him to slip through the gates undetected, he wondered if it would be more difficult to penetrate the Hokage's defenses. He hoped it would. Then he could believe there was still hope for this village.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, you asshole!" The stranger tuned at the voice. A young boy was yelling and shaking his fist at an older looking man.

"What the hell did you just call me you little beast?" The old man rushed up to the boy and got in his face. He then grabbed the shouting kid by the front of his shirt and lifted him off his feet.

"I said YOU'RE AN ASS HOLE!" The kid's face showed no fear whatsoever. The man dropped the kid and pushed him into a wall, knocking the wind out of him. He punched the kid in his stomach and stepped back as the boy slumped forward to his knees. "Filthy bastard!" The boy choked. "You just wait!" He gritted his teeth against the pain in his gut and tried to stand.

"You hear that? This kid doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut!" The old bastard was laughing to his friends.

"Maybe we should teach him?" The man's friend grabbed the boy by his throat and shoved him back to the pavement.

"Yeah! We should!" The other called out as he cracked his knuckles.

"Yeah. You hear that kid? You're gunna get some free schoolin'!" The man grabbed the boy by his hair and yanked him back to his feet. The boy protested, only to be punched in the face by one of the man's friends.

Of all the villagers in the market that day, only one of them could even be bothered to turn and take notice as three grown men carried a screaming child into an alleyway. They didn't even care. They all knew that kid. He was trouble. It served him right. Demon.

The stranger made his way through the crowd to the opposite side of the street, cursing silently about the villager's apathy and complete disregard for one of their own, and a child no less. It seemed that this village had deteriorated to the point where they couldn't even be held to the wishes of the man who had provided them with the peace they so adored. He'd have to teach them a lesson on respect for the dead.

"Hahaha! Come on Monster! It's more fun when you fight back!" The boy felt the man's fist before he could even regain his footing. He cursed himself for being so weak.

One of the men picked him up and threw him towards the other two. They each grabbed an arm and held him up so the other one could continue to hit him without him falling down. The two that were holding him laughed as their friend beat the boy senseless.

The boy's eyes had started to sting from the blood that was now running freely into them. His vision started to darken and blur. He heard a terrible ringing in his ears from the blows to his head. He was terrified of passing out. There was no telling what these men would do to him if he passed out. Would they actually kill him? Did they hate him that much? He noticed that something had caused the man to stop hitting him.

"Mind your own affairs sir! There's nothing that concerns you here." Someone had apparently interrupted his beating.

"You must really fear that boy to be attacking him a group like that." The boy didn't recognize the voice, but he was glad that whoever it was had shown up though.

"This kid is a demon! A monster! He deserves to be punished!"

"Is that so? I see a child. If he were truly a demon, wouldn't he be the one attacking you instead of the other way around?" There was a pause. "Why don't you let me show you how a real demon behaves?" There was a noise. One of the men screamed. The hands that held him up suddenly fell slack and he dropped to his knees. He lay there panting and trying to regain his focus. He could hear the sounds of flesh connecting with flesh, flesh connecting with stone, and flesh connecting with dirt. Not being able to turn and witness the actions, he cheered inwardly for his mysterious hero, even though he was mad that he even needed to be saved in the first place.

Silence fell. The boy managed to crawl over to building and prop him self up against the wall in a sitting position. He wiped at his eyes with the front of his shirt and rested his head against the cold bricks. He sighed and closed his eyes, wondering if the people of this godforsaken village would ever accept him. Why did they have to be so cruel?

"Here."

The boy's eyes slid open. The man who stood before him seemed to be a ghost wrapped in shadows. His skin was pale, but his eyes were as black as pitch. He was clad in black and his spiky black hair was pushed away from his face by a pair of round, black goggles. The boy's line of sight trailed down the figure standing before him until his eyes fell on the object in the man's hand. A dripping rag was being offered to him. He took it and washed the blood from his face and neck. It was cold. It felt good against his battered skin. The stranger knelt down next to him.

"Thanks mister…for the rag." The kid tossed the bloodied rag back to the stranger who caught it without even thinking.

"Does this happen to you often?"

"Nah. Not really. Mostly people just ignore me. It's not like I couldn't fight them back, you know, but it would just get worse. They'd hate me more. Plus, in a couple of days, I'm gunna be full fledged ninja! I can't just go around fighting with civilians. I'm supposed to protect them!" The kids face was twisted into a faint but pained smile, and he had a peculiar look in his eyes

The stranger smiled back in spite of himself at the child's words. He was about to offer to heal the boy's injuries for him, but he noticed that the boy apparently didn't need his help. The visible scrapes and cuts on his skin were already beginning to heal themselves.

"So are you really the demon they claimed you were?"

"Maybe." The boy met the stranger's dark eyes. "Are you really the demon you claim to be?"

"Most definitely." With that, the stranger stood and nodded to the boy. "Since you are no longer in need of my assistance, I'll be on my way." He turned, picked up the bundle he'd left laying at the mouth of the alley, and went about his business, leaving the boy to his own devices once again.

The boy simply sat there and watched the man go. He thought that had to be the coolest grown up he'd ever seen. He was way cooler than that stupid old man Hokage! He wondered what made the man want to help him. He quickly got to his feet and ran out into the crowds of market place, scanning franticly for the dark stranger. He spotted him not very far off and shoved his way through the crowd to catch him.

"Hey! Hey mister! Wait up!" The man turned and saw the boy struggling to catch up with him. He stepped out of the way of the passing carts and carriages and waited for the kid. He appeared to have recovered almost fully by then. That was impressive. "Hey…I was just wondering, um…why'd you help me back there? I mean, no one else ever has, so why?"

"You said you were going to become a Shinobi of the Leaf did you not?"

"Yeah?"

"All Leaf Shinobi are comrades. One must never abandon his precious comrades when they are in need." The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded bandana with a silver plate attached to it. The plate was engraved with the mark of the Leaf. It was the symbol of his ninja affiliation. The boy wondered why the man didn't wear it proudly like all the other ninjas in the village did. The stranger slipped it back into his pocket and nodded his farewell. He then turned and ducked behind a crowd of people who were passing, and vanished from the boy's sight.

The boy stood transfixed in the direction that the mysterious stranger had disappeared from. That was definitely the coolest guy he'd ever met. The coolest NINJA he'd ever met! His thoughts drifted back over their brief encounter. He hoped that he'd get a chance to meet that man again. He wanted to know who he was. He was shaken from his day dream when a hand grabbed his shoulder. He jerked himself free and spun around on reflex; a part of him expecting to see one of the three guys who had just kicked his ass. His eyes met with someone he never would have expected.

"What the hell do YOU want?" He was annoyed about being bothered when he was busy daydreaming.

"Dead Last, who was that man you were just talking to?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Who was it?"

"Just a guy! I don't know. Damn. What's your problem?" The other boy was staring at the blood smeared across the front of his shirt and caked in his blonde hair.

"What happened to you?"

"Why the hell do you care? Uchiha Bastard. Not like you give a shit about anyone else but yourself anyway! You're annoying! Go away!"

"Tch. Loser." With that, the other boy shoved him out of his way and ran off in the direction that the stranger had apparently gone in.

The blonde watched the other boy's retreating back. He focused on the red and white fan on his shirt, the emblem of the Uchiha clan. He vaguely thought about how he used to see a lot of people with that emblem on their clothes, but not so much anymore… actually, not at all anymore. He shook away the thought. "What the heck was that all about? Stupid bastard. Always has to be better than everyone else. Hmph!"

THIS IS THE END IF CHAPTER ONE! YAY. Yeah, I know there ain't much going on yet, but there will be! And soon! Keep reading! And don't forget to review. I just LUUUUUUUUV getting reviews!


	2. I Wonder

DISCLAIMER: …or whatever: um, yeah…if I owned Naruto, I would say screw college and just do nothing but Naruto all day long… _chuckle coughcough_

WARNINGS: Language and violence…nothing too naughty...yet

NOTE: Yay..it's chapter two! Much Obito this time…cuz the man needs some luvin'. I've actually gone in here and fixed a bunch of errors, so if you find one, be sure to let me know, and call me a "non-seeing-dumb-ass". Thanks.

SPOILERS: Obito. (yet, since we don't really know much about him in the first place, I really don't know what could be spoiled.)

Enough of my idiot babbling…on with the friggin' story!

…I Wonder…

He was disappointed, to be sure. He'd gotten so far! He was nearly standing outside the old man's chamber before an ANBU team stopped him. And still, only four. Four ANBU to take him down! He wanted to laugh. This whole village be damned! If he'd wanted that old man's heart beating it's last in his hand, he could've had it a few times over by now! Four ANBU. Pathetic. Hell, he'd just walked right into the village through the front door, with no documentation of residency or proof of ninja affiliation, AND he was toting a rather ominous looking bundle, which by the way, was beginning to smell. He'd even stopped to pick a fight and have a nice little chat before he'd strode confidently into the Hokage's tower, through the front door, in broad daylight, and marched his way, undisturbed, right to the old man's door before someone had bothered to say...

"Stop where you are." The head of the ANBU team was holding a kunai dangerously close to his tender jugular.

"It's about time. I was wondering if I should just go ahead and kill him for your lack of attention."

"What is your business here, sir?" That one sounded like he was still wet behind his little ears.

"My business is with Sandaime Sama. If I meant harm, he'd already be dead by now. So, why don't you just show me in, now that you're here?"

"Very well then. You may pass." The ANBU squad leader sure was an idiot. That's all it was going to take to get him to lower his blade? The intruder laughed to himself as he walked the rest of the way down the familiar corridor that lead to the Hokage's meeting chamber. When they reached to door, the two ANBU that flanked him went on ahead and stood on opposite sides of the doors. The ANBU squad leader stood in front of him and the last one was behind him, probably holding a knife to his back.

"Sandaime Sama has been expecting you." The squad leader said as he stepped aside. The other two each slid a door open, allowing the stranger to see inside the chamber. For the first time that day, he'd actually been impressed by the old man. It looked as though every remaining ANBU in the village had been assembled inside his chamber. They all stood facing him, making a wall of bodies between themselves and the Hokage. The ANBU that stood directly in front of him held out his hands to receive the bundle that the stranger had under his arm. The dark stranger smirked and dropped it into his hands. As if on cue, the sea of masked bodies parted and turned to face the narrow path they'd created from the door to the desk where the old Hokage awaited.

Sandaime had his back turned, looking up at the wall to the framed photographs of the previous occupants of this chamber. His own face, though quite a bit younger, was among them. His was the third face in that row, but his eyes were fixed on the one directly to the right. He had been contemplating Yondaime, the long deceased hero of Konoha, the Fourth Hokage.

"Welcome, Obito. As you can see, I've been waiting for you." He paused, still gazing at his former successor. "You're late." The old man turned and gave his young visitor a stern, disapproving look, as though he were a willful child who was in need of punishment.

Obito was amused by the old man's dramatic display. He wondered how long they'd known he was coming. "Well, I had a little…encounter…on my way here." He approached the old man and stood opposite him in front of his desk.

"You may all go now." The old man said, gesturing to his ANBU Corps.

"Hokage Sama?" One of the ANBU asked, questioning his superior.

"It is fine. This man and I have important matters to discuss. Please return to your normal duties now." With that, the ANBU squads began filing out the door way until all had gone except for the ANBU Captain, who stood to the right of the Hokage, and his Second, who was now standing to the right of Obito, holding the bundle which he had taken from him. There was a long pause as the men stood examining each other, then the Hokage decided to break the silence and get right down to business.

"Obito Uchiha, you are an S-Class Missing Nin, and even though I have no evidence that you have committed any crimes against this country, and you were once an Elite and respected ninja, I cannot simply allow this matter to be left with impunity…glad as I am to see that you've decided to return to us. Tell me now, why I should not have you taken into custody and charged with abandonment?"

"Such a strict old man!" Obito laughed. "I didn't come here to stay, but I came across a rather unique object and I thought I'd deliver it you as a gift…and as an act of good faith." He motioned to the bundle that he'd been carrying. The ANBU that was holding it placed it on the desk in front of the Hokage and undid the tie that held it closed. Obito put his hand over his nose, shielding it from the stench he knew would was about to be let out.

The ANBU unfolded the cloth and the layer of plastic that covered its contents. His eyes widened when he beheld the 'gift'.

"Consider it a 'peace offering', to show that my loyalty still lies with The Leaf." Obito said into his hand.

The Hokage's eyes narrowed as he examined the severed head that was in the process of rotting on his desk. "This is…"

"I didn't do this for revenge if that's what you're thinking. I also didn't do this purposefully to gain your favor. The arrogant fool sought me out. I had no choice but to defend myself from him."

"So, you were able to defeat him."

"It wasn't that hard. He was vain and over confident."

The ANBU Captain moved to examine the face of the man who the head had once belonged to. With his index and pinky finger, he pushed up the eyelids to prove that the head really was genuine. Two advanced Sharingan stared blankly back at him. He'd never seen Sharingan like that before. He glanced up to the man who was said to posses those same eyes. "Hokage Sama, by your leave, I will take this to the medical team and have someone examine it…" He looked reluctantly at the Uchiha that was now raising an eyebrow in his direction. "…for authentication, of course."

"Ah ha ha! You can examine that Eye all you want. I've no use for them…though I've heard…they fetch a hefty price on the underground market." He grinned at the old man who was not looking amused by the comment. "Really. It's not like anyone's left to care. I certainly don't. I was actually almost a little grateful he killed the rest of them."

"You have my permission to verify his identity. Take it now and report back to me with the findings. You are both released." The two remaining ANBU took the severed head and exited the chamber without question. The old Hokage took a seat behind his desk and removed his ceremonial hat. He rubbed at the now hairless area above each temple. "Obito, why have you returned? What is the real reason?"

Obito brought a chair from against the wall, placed it in front of the old man's desk, and slumped down on it. He sighed. "I've come to check on my ward. That's all. I also plan on taking him with me when I leave."

"I cannot allow you to remove that boy from this village Obito. I will not allow it. If you try to take him, I will have you hunted and tried for kidnapping."

"This village would not miss him. I've already seen that much."

"This village would uproar if that child were allowed to roam unchecked. They would want him to be hunted and killed."

"Have you forgotten who that boy is? My sensei, YOUR successor, entrusted me with the task watching over him! Entrusted us all! And look how this village treats him! I found three men beating him in the street today! No one even came to aid him! What would you have done if I hadn't been there and those men had killed him?"

"Tell me who these men were and I will see to that they are punished accordingly."

"I've already punished them accordingly. Your actions are not enough! He told me that this village hates, and ignores him. He is Yondaime's legacy! He deserves more than to be shunned and disrespected!"

"Obito, your words and your actions contradict themselves. You abandoned your duty to him when you abandoned this village. Why have you bothered to return now?"

"Have you forgotten old man? I didn't abandon this village by choice. I was forced to flee for my life. My entire clan was plotting against me. They tried to have me assassinated! They feared me…for these eyes! Remember?" He leaned forward towards the old man and flashed Mangekyou eyes at him.

"That is the reason I did not send Hunter Nin to retrieve you. It does not mean that you are forgiven for your actions."

"I was little more than a child myself at that time Sandaime. I had no means of caring for an infant, or I assure you, I would have taken him with me when I left! I refuse to abandon him in this godforsaken village that hates him!"

"Then do not abandon him Obito. Naruto loves this village. Instead of taking him away from the place that he loves, stay here with him and teach him."

"Out of the question. I refuse."

"He has made a great achievement recently. He has graduated from the Ninja Academy, and he has successfully learned a Jounin level jutsu on his own with no instruction. Would you deny him the chance to gain the recognition and respect of his peers and his superiors after all this time of being…unnoticed?" Obito had no reply. He was still angry with the old man. The Hokage continued with his argument. "You are still a Jounin of The Leaf, and when the news of your victory over the Uchiha traitor reaches the village, you will be seen as a hero to the people. I believe it may be easy for you to regain acceptance among our ranks. If you agree, I will see to it that you are assigned as his Jounin instructor."

It was starting to sound like a more acceptable arrangement than hiding from Hunter Nin for the unknown future with a child in tow. Besides, he had missed his home, even though he sometimes felt ill will towards it. "If I agree…then he will be my only student. I won't accept anyone else."

"That brings me to another matter that I wish to discuss with you Obito."

"What other matter could we possibly have to discuss, old man? Save for attending to my families…financial matters, and the bounty on that head?"

"That is a part of what I'd like to speak about." The Hokage reached over to a box and pulled a file from the top of it. He handed it over his desk to Obito, who reluctantly sat up to reach for it. "Were you aware, Obito, that Itachi did not murder every last Uchiha? He left one alive." Obito opened the folder and saw a picture of a boy that, even from a glance, could be easily recognized as an Uchiha. "They found his younger brother curled up with the bodies of their parents. The investigating team thought he was dead too at first because his eyes were open but he didn't respond to their presence at all. He just lay there motionless as they outlined his body." Obito continued scanning the file of the kid while the Hokage spoke. "When they tried to move him, he reacted violently and began screaming hysterically." Obito glanced up at the old man. He already knew what was coming next. "We assume that Itachi used THAT technique on him." Obito felt sorry for the boy in the picture. He knew that the effects of that jutsu were long standing and hard to recover from. He suddenly took notice of the look that the boy's face shown in the photo. His unexpressive face was a thin veil that barely concealed the sheer rage and hatred that burned in the boy's eyes. He looked at the name. Uchiha, Sasuke.

Sasuke ran though the streets of the Konoha as fast as his feet could carry him, which of course was pretty fast, considering that he had just graduated 'top of his class' from the Ninja Academy a couple of days ago. He scanned the streets of the village from the rooftops, desperately searching for the man he'd glimpsed talking to that Uzumaki kid. He looked so familiar to him. He knew he'd seen that man's face somewhere before…somewhere he hadn't dared go to for a long time.

"Shit!" He was having no luck at all and he was getting tired. He'd been running around nonstop for almost an hour trying to find that man. Stubbornly he let his body drop down to a sitting position and rested his head against the wall of the building he was on. He didn't want to do what he was about to do…he absolutely didn't want to go there…but he had to! He had to know if he was right about that man. If he was who he thought it was. If it was REALLY him, then…maybe…maybe that man would help him.

Sasuke stood up and sighed. He had to know. He reluctantly turned his head in the direction of the quietest part of town, the place where no one lived anymore, the place that no one would go…even after all this time. It was said that there was a grudge in that place. The other villagers were afraid to go near it. They swore all kinds of things about it. That they'd seen ghosts there, that people who entered it wouldn't return, that the souls of the dead could be heard at night when there was a full moon, screaming for revenge. Sasuke, of course, didn't believe in those things. He clenched his fists. He had to go. Without a noise he jumped from the building and dashed off in the direction of the Uchiha district.

"So, this kid is the heir to the Uchiha legacy. Must be fun being him." Obito tossed the file back on the Hokage's desk. "So what is it that you're trying to say to me old man? You want me to teach him this Eye?"

"I want you to become his guardian Obito…and yes, you are the only one left to teach him."

"Become his guardian? What? Like, now I have two kids I gotta look after? Ha ha! I should have just stayed away."

"Listen Obito, since that tragedy, Sasuke has been…" Sandaime, paused and considered his words carefully. "He's changed greatly. Of course he's becoming an excellent ninja, and he's graduated top of his class, but I'm afraid that he may have severe emotional problems. His instructors tell me that, though the other children seen to like him, he has no friends and is rarely seen doing anything but training. I fear for the boy's intentions. Also, I worry about how he will react when the news of his brother's death reaches him."

Obito rubbed his eyes and sighed pathetically. It seemed as though he'd bitten off more than he wanted to chew. When Itachi attacked him, and he'd been forced to remove his head from his body, he figured he'd just drop in on Konoha, check on the kid, show off a little to old man Sandaime, and maybe make a few bucks off the bounty on Itachi's head. It was NOT his intention to be forced to play daddy to a couple of messed up little kids! Well, Naruto wasn't messed up; he was actually a good kid. That's the reason Obito decided to take him away with him in the first place. But the other one…'Sasuke'? How the hell could he deal with him? That kid was probably really sick in the head after what happened to him! He imagined all the things that Itachi could have shown him with the Kaleidoscope Eye…

"Aw geez! This is too much old man!"

"Obito, perhaps it is not by accident that you have appeared before me today. That boy is in need of proper instruction. I don't know of any other Jounin that I would trust in handling him. Though he is skilled, I question his ability to function properly as a ninja. You've seen what can happen to children like that." He had Obito with that one. Sandaime was speaking from experience when he talked about a certain 'type' of ninja that had a tendency to go bad and come back to bite you in the ass.

"That's not fair."

"But it is the truth. What else can I do with him? He was already registered at the academy when that tragedy happened. I could not just have him removed from his class, but I would have prevented him from attending in the first place, had this situation arisen before that."

"That's really harsh for you to say old man."

"The truth is… I don't think he is fit to handle the emotional stress of becoming a ninja."

"I'm sure he's not THAT messed up! Plenty of people have seen their families die."

"That was in times of war Obito. I know that you grew up in a world like that, but these days children know nothing of war. Besides that, his family was murdered by his brother, not by enemy soldiers." Sandaime paused and gave a wry smile to the young man in front of him. "If you think he isn't a problem, then you will not have a problem with me ordering him into your custody."

"Oh, now you're ordering me to take him?"

"I am."

"You can't do that!"

"I can, and I will. If you do not comply, I will have you arrested for any number of reasons."

"Like anyone you have could take me down!"

"Then you'd add to your charge. Because when all of my men fail, I will come after you myself, and I will be very angry with you by then."

"Damn you old man!"

"Do you doubt my word?"

"Fine. I'll watch that kid for you. And I'll take him and Naruto as my students. BUT NO OTHERS! I will not accept any more than them! You're asking way too much as it is!"

"Obito, you know that the best way of training students is in groups of three. That is why we only allow a multiple of three to graduate from the academy. I only have the number of instructors to fulfill the number of students in groups of three. If you only took two students, one student would be left without an instructor."

"You mean you have enough instructors to cover all the groups, save one."

"That is correct. I've already chosen a third for the boys' group."

"You mean those two were going to be on the same team anyway? Geez old man! Did you set this whole thing up or something? Who was going to be their instructor? You had to have someone chosen for them if you if you didn't find another instructor by now!"

"I was going to take them."

Obito choked a little. "YOU! A Kage? Taking on Genin students? How the hell did you think you'd manage something like that?"

"I had no choice. There was no one else I would trust with them. I tried summoning Jiraiya, but he still refuses to speak to me. And Tsunade…" The old man rolled his eyes. "I don't think I would want those children to be around her. You also know that everyone from your instructor's team and your team are gone now. I am certain however, that my other former student would be more than happy to have such powerful children under his guidance, but I don't think that would be a good thing where this village is concerned, do you? So, who else could take them?"

"Did you just make a joke?"

The old man smiled again at the young Jounin. Obito didn't like that smile one bit. It looked evil. "It is fortunate for me that you have returned at such a convenient time Obito. I have faith that you will attend to these children properly and create an excellent team out of them in my place. I, more than anyone, would like to see these children progress, especially Naruto." The old man laughed to himself about Naruto's recent escapades with his grandson. "You know, Obito, he has his eyes set on my chair." The old man stood up and stretched his back. "He's made it publicly known that he intends to one day challenge me for my seat as Hokage." The old man was now walking over the giant window in his office that faced the great stone monument. "I think it would be fitting. Don't you? I suppose I could hold back on retiring for another five years or so, but that still isn't much time. I hope that you will train him in a way that I would have, so he will be ready when the time comes."

"Hn! I'll work miracles for that kid! I think my sensei would want it that way."

"It will be a difficult path for him though. The number of people he must make accept him is great. He must be extremely diligent and patient. You've seen this village's reaction to him. That is the task he must overcome. Yet, I still have faith in this one. Though he is a bit… abrasive… he is turning out to be a fine young man."

"As I said before, I spoke with him for a moment today. He…told me that the reason he let those villagers keep beating him, was because he believed that as a ninja, it was his duty to protect them…He's a good kid." Obito had developed a soft spot for the kid when he said those words to him earlier. That, he thought, was the way a true ninja should think. "The people treat him that way and he still wants to protect them…"

"That is why I am counting on you Obito. For now, train him as a spy. He is excellent at hiding in all forms. He uses Henge well, and has also created a unique skill, one that you will find amusing, if not useful to him in that field."

"What about the advanced skill that he learned?"

"He has mastered Kage Bunshin."

"Really? Shadow Replication? How'd he ever learn that without instruction?"

"He snuck into the temple and stole the Scroll of Forbidden Skills."

"HA HA HA! He did? And he wasn't executed?"

"He was coerced into it. He even used Shadow Replication to capture the man who set him up in order to steal the scroll for himself. I'm told that he can even replicate on a large scale. This is probably due to the extra chakra that he receives from his Seal. Even still, he managed to best a Chuunin. That is no easy task for an academy student."

Obito sighed. This was going to be fun. "Alright. I'll do as you ask."

"Thank you Obito."

"Please tell me the third kid wasn't abused and molested or something?"

The old man laughed. "No, no, nothing like that." He turned and walked back over to his desk. "She's very smart actually. She's not very skilled at ninjutsu, but she has amazing chakra control, and her genjutsu abilities are above normal. She would do very well in a number of other groups, but I think she has the potential to excel, as those boys do."

"Great chakra control egh?"

"Yes, if she'd been in the previous class, I would have assigned her to Gai's group which orients itself with hand to hand fighting. I would have liked to see how she progressed as a fighter with a Hyuuga as a teammate. In this case though, I think it would be better if she were steered towards healing. I take it you copied a few healing jutsus that you could teach her…since you had Rin on your team."

"Yeah. I know some."

"Then that will be her path, should she choose it."

"What about the other one. What am I supposed to do with him?"

"I thought you would know that already Obito, since he is your clan."

"Probably a Hunter Nin…or maybe ANBU…depending on Naruto's path, that is. He may want serve directly under his comrade."

"He already seems to be preparing himself to be a killer. He probably intends to seek vengeance from his brother."

"He's gunna have a tough time with that one considering that's not even an option anymore," Obito chuckled.

"That is why you must take special care to guide him down the proper path. I don't want to see another Nin lose his way. The Uchiha clan has always been looked up to in Konoha; I would hate to see its legacy forever tarnished because of this awful tragedy. The people already look up to him as a member of that clan, just as they will look up to you. Please, Obito, see to it that he is not corrupted, as a personal favor to me."

"You have my word old man. These children will ascend to great heights under my care. I will see to it, but I ask that I be allowed…levity…with them. I think my methods may be… different… from most other instructors."

"You have free reign with them. Do with them as you see fit to deliver the best results. But do not over step your place. They must choose their own paths. It is merely your job to see that that path is an acceptable one."

"Understood. I won't fail you…or them."

"I am glad to hear that." The old man opened his drawer, pulled out a long pipe, lit it, and puffed at it casually. "You know…Obito…that this was your trial." Obito looked up at the old man questioningly. "I am glad we could come to an acceptable agreement on how you will gain your penance."

"Hn!"

The old man grinned at the Obito. "Now, we are free to discus the matter of your family's Estates."

Ta Ta For Now!

Yay! So how was it? Didn't suck too bad, did it?

Until next time….. "…What Would Have Happened…"

Smoochies!


	3. What Would Have Happened

DISCLAIMER…or whatever: um, yeah…if I owned Naruto, I would say screw collage and just do nothing but Naruto all day long… chuckle coughcough

WARNINGS: Language and violence…nothing too naughty...yet.

Oh…and there's some Suckura too…wide grin

NOTE: Please recall that in the last chapter, Sandaime told Obito that Sasuke had 'emotional problems'. Please keep that in mind from here on out. Just felt I needed to mention that.

SPOILERS: Not really. If you know anything about the manga then you will know that almost all things I say about the Uchiha clan in this chapter are completely fabricated. I did this to give the clan a sense of culture…and to progress the story… so don't bitch. Please. I will cry.

Enough of my idiot babbling…on with the friggin' story!

…What Would Have Happened…

Sasuke steadily forced his feet to keep their pace up the walk to his family's old home. He hadn't been here since that night, when they were killed. His whole body seemed to quiver beneath his skin. Just thinking about what he was doing was making him sick. He could feel the panic setting in. How was he able to force himself to come here? Why had he come here again? What was worth this horrible feeling? He had to find out if that man was really who he thought he was. Yes. He had to know!

He shoved down the fear and forced his trembling hand to still as reached for the front door. The nausea was really getting to him though. How the hell was he supposed to get rid of that? "Damn it! It's not like they're just gunna be lying on the floor!" He chided himself for being so childish…for not being able to get the image of his parents lying dead out of his mind. They'd been slain inside the dojo anyway. _They weren't even in the house_.

But they were in the house…in the beginning. Sasuke knew that…he'd seen it…they'd been beaten and then forced to crawl to the dojo. He made them wait there…for the right moment to come. Itachi knew that his younger brother would be home very soon. He waited for that moment to strike. Their bodies hit the floor just as Sasuke opened the door.

Sasuke couldn't hold the sickness in him anymore. He quickly leaned away from the door and began retching. He fell to his knees and released the contents of his stomach all over the place where a flower garden once grew. The worst part was, the getting sick…was making him feel MORE sick. He couldn't seem to control himself at all. His whole body seemed to be functioning against him. It took him a while before he was able to calm down enough to stand again. When he finally did, he quickly yanked open the door and entered his old house.

It didn't take him long to find what he'd been looking for. It would have been hard to miss. There was a certain wall in one of the hallways; it held pictures of all the different families in the clan. Sasuke approached them and examined them carefully, just like he used to do as a child. His father had told him that Uchiha were a very respected clan in Konoha. He said that the Uchiha's were all one big family…

"_These are the living members of our clan, Sasuke. Get to know their faces well. These are the members of your family. Always treat them with kindness and respect, and they will do the same for you."_ His father's words rang clearly in his ears as he stood before that wall of memories.

"_Are these really all of the Uchiha's that are alive?"_

"_That's right. When a member of our clan dies, we remove that photo and replace it with a new one. It is a part of how we pay respect for the living and the dead. If I were to die, this picture of us would be taken down and a new one, with just you, Itachi, and your mother would take its place. It is a process for letting go, of the soul that has let go of us. Do you understand?_

Sasuke nodded. But he didn't understand. He was only six, and no one around him had ever died that he could remember. He looked up at the picture that was closest to his eyes. There was a young man in it…and a young woman…Sasuke thought she was pretty…he remembered just staring at it for a while. He'd never seen them before.

Sasuke stood before the last picture on the left, at the bottom. He had to kneel down to see it now. He remembered it because the next time he'd come to look at it back then, the man had been standing alone. He thought that that was the first time he'd really ever thought about what 'alone' meant. He studied the face in the photo. It looked like that man he'd seen today, but a lot younger, closer to his own age, but still a few years ahead of him. He didn't know what he thought about that. He knew these pictures were kept current until the massacre…and Sasuke remembered that he'd never seen that man before…could it be that he really was alive? He wasn't sure how he'd feel about that…if it were true. He had more questions in his mind than he could answer. It was getting to him. He tried not to look around. He didn't want to look at the things that would force his mind to keep remembering.

He couldn't help it when his eyes drifted up from the photo of the boy to the one of his own family. His own young face smiled back at him, and his mother and father. He shivered when his eyes met with the cold stare coming from the last person in that picture. Why did he have to be so afraid of him? He shook his head angrily and, without fully registering what he was doing, he pulled out a kunai from his pouch and jammed it into the image of his brother. The crunching sound the glass made rang in his ears. He stepped back and leaned against the opposite wall, breathing heavily. His eyes trailed around at all the faces that should be gone from the pictures. Vaguely he thought that he should take them down. There was no one left to hang from that wall, save for himself…and the other man. Itachi should be left there too, of course, but Sasuke didn't think anyone would care if he didn't want to look at him. They couldn't care. They didn't exist anymore.

Sasuke sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes. They had begun to sting. He couldn't stand it in this place anymore. He stood away from the wall he was using as a crutch, yanked out the kunai that was now buried in the image of his brother as he passed it, and made his way out of that house. He slid the kunai back into his pouch and ran as fast as he could back into the living world.

"Did you here about the stranger?"

"I heard he was the Uchiha that went missing ten years ago!"

"That's what I heard too! And I also heard that he brought back the head of another Missing Nin!"

"Yeah! Yeah! He brought it to the Hokage as a gift!"

"I heard it was so he would be allowed back into the village."

"Who told you that?"

"I know someone who was there."

"Who?"

"Well, I can't say who it was…"

"Hey! Your brother is an ANBU right?"

"Yeah…he was in

Sasuke hadn't been in town for more than a couple of minutes before he heard the villagers begin to whisper about the strange visitor that had arrived that day. He would have heard it earlier, had he not been sticking to the rooftops in search of the very man they were talking about. He was in a foul mood. It didn't help that he could feel the villager's eyes on him. Why did they always have to stare like he was some kind of freak?

"SASUKEEEE!" A girl's voice shrieked at him in that way that made his skin crawl and his blood run cold. He was about to turn and flee from the irritating girl that was so enamored with him, but he'd not been fast enough. He felt her arms snake their way around his waist and ensnare him in a death grip.

"Ugh! GET OFF!" The girl paid no attention. She snuggled her face into his back. He wished she would use that grip to strangle herself.

"Sasuke! I'm so glad I ran into you!" He was not in the mood for her idiotic prattle.

"I said, GET OFF ME! NOW!" He yanked himself away from her and spun around. She didn't even look bothered by his cold reaction. She went ahead with her babbling.

"Sasuke…since we are both here…um…I was just wondering…"

"No."

"But I didn't even ask-"

"NO! Look, I'm not in the mood for this shit right now okay? Just go away."

"What's wrong with you today Sasuke? Do you want me to cheer you up?"

"I'm tired of having this conversation with you Sakura! Leave me alone!" With that, he ran. Just like he always did.

It seemed like he could never stop running. Something just always seemed to be there to force his legs to carry him away in a hurried pace. He wished it would all just stop. He was getting tired of it. He wanted so badly to stop running. He just wanted a moment of peace. Was that too much to ask for? Why had his life been cursed in such a way that he could never rest? He was just so tired…tired of it all.

He stopped when he thought he had gotten far enough away that the girl wouldn't find him. He stood and leaned against a building to catch his breath. The smell of Ramen filled his nose. He suddenly felt a little hungry, even though he didn't really like the stuff. He was about to step around to the front of the building and go in for a bite to eat when a voice rang out and stopped him in his tracks.

"Naruto! Naruto!" The voice called out, but Naruto couldn't hear it. He was busy slurping. "Naruto! Hey bro! Did you hear?"

_sluuurp_ "Egh?" Naruto turned from his meal and saw the little kid that was shouting at him. "Konohamaru? What?"

"A man tried to sneak into my grandpa's office today! Gramps had the whole room full of ANBU waiting for him!"

"That's nice."

"Yeah! And do you know what I heard?"

_slurp_ "Wha's that?"

"I heard that the man gave my grandpa a severed head as a gift!"

"Oh, that's nice…HEY! I'M TRYING TO EAT HERE! I DON'T NEED TO BE HEARING ABOUT NO SEVERED HEADS!"

"BUT BRO! THEY SAID IT WAS THE HEAD OF THE UCHIHA TRAITOR!"

"Uchiha? What traitor?"

"HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW?"

"People don't really tell me things. It's not like I give a crap about any stupid Uchiha anyway!"

"The traitor who murdered their whole clan! I was little when it happened but even** I** still remember it!"

"The whole clan? That can't be true. There is an Uchiha in my class. He's a real bastard too."

"Yeah bro! He's the last one! I can't believe you didn't know that!"

"So?"

"Anyway, I snuck in and listened to some ANBU talking about it, and do you know what they were saying?"

"I bet you're gunna tell me."

"The man who brought the head was a Missing Nin! And _he's_ an Uchiha too!"

"Great, now there are two bastards."

"NARUTO! IF THAT MAN BROUGHT BACK THE TRAITORS HEAD, THEN HE'S GOT TO BE ONE OF THE STONGEST PEOPLE IN THIS VILLAGE!"

Naruto paused to think. _Missing Nin…_He thought about the man who'd helped him earlier, about how he had his forehead protector in his pocket instead of wearing it. _Severed head…_He DID see that man carrying something wrapped up in a red and black cloth. _Uchiha?..._ Black hair, black eyes, and pale skin… _"Dead Last, who was that man you were just talking to?" _

"HOLY SHIT! KONOHAMARU! I THINK I SAW THAT GUY!"

"REALLY BRO? YOU SAW HIM? THAT'S SO COOL! WHAT WAS HE LIKE? TELL ME! TELL ME!"

Naruto grinned and leaned down to stare his young friend in the eyes. With a slow and menacing voice he said, "He told me that he was a demon…" Konohamaru's eyes got large. Naruto inched closer and continued. "…and he beat the crap out of three really strong guys in like five seconds!"

"Whoa…" Konohamaru's mouth fell open, shocked by the coolness of the stranger…and the coolness of Naruto for being there to see it. "Hey wait. How come you were there?"

"Well…um…because I'm the great Naruto Uzumaki! I see everything!" Okay, so that was lame. He sure wasn't about to tell the kid that didn't really see it because he was too busy bleeding and hurting from the beating the three guys had just given him, but most of what he'd said was true anyway. That guy was an Uchiha huh? Wow. He never thought he'd see the day when he'd ever associate the name 'Uchiha' and the word 'cool'. Today must have been special.

Konohamaru gave his older friend an untrusting look. "I don't believe you."

"WHAT? You dare question me? Alright! Fine! You go find that guy and ask him! I bet you he'll tell you he saw me earlier!" He turned back to his meal, which was now getting cold. "Go on! What are you waiting for? I'm trying to eat!"

"Fine! I'm gunna go find that guy!" He started to run back the way came, but turned and yelled his goodbye. "See you later Naruto!"

Naruto waved over his shoulder at the kid and continued with his meal. His thoughts turned to the OTHER Uchiha he'd seen that day. He found himself wondering what HE thought about all this. Did he even know about it? His whole clan had been murdered? No wonder he was always such a bastard to people. Naruto thought he'd probably be a bastard to everyone too if he were in that position, but he would never be in that position…he didn't have a family to begin with. "What the heck am I thinking? I hate that guy!" With that, Naruto pushed those thoughts aside and decided to focus his attention on the new steaming bowl of ramen that was about be placed in front of him.

Sasuke's knees had given out on him a long time ago. He had just, kind of, slumped back against the wall and slid down it. If that building wouldn't have been there, he probably would have just fallen over and laid there. He couldn't even think. His whole body seemed to go numb, but he could still feel himself shaking. There he was, the great Uchiha prodigy, brought to his knees by no more than a few words spoken by a noisy child.

His brain had ceased to function at the part when he'd heard the words: the head of the Uchiha Traitor, but his ears kept working for some reason. He clutched at his hair with his trembling hands and beat the back of his head against the wall a few times to make sure that he was really still awake and alive. '_This can't be real. This can't be happening. This can't be real.'_

Naruto, having spent his last scrap of cash on his last bowl, decided that he was full and got up to leave Ichiraku.

"I'll be back again soon old man!" He lifted the curtain that covered the entrance and stepped out into the street. There he was faced with a decision. Go home, or go out to the practice field. Had he chosen to practice, he would have taken a left and headed out of town to the training grounds. It was getting dark already, however, and he'd had an interesting day. He hadn't even washed the blood out of his hair yet. Practice could wait until tomorrow he thought. So, he took a right.

He'd just stretched his arms out and rested them behind his head when he caught a flash of something white out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't help but glance over to see what it was. Arm bands. They were white arm bands. The arms that wore them were wrapped around a head full of jet black hair. He stopped in his tracks.

'_Oh shit.'_

Naruto wasn't as slow on the uptake as everybody seemed to think he was. He knew that Sasuke had probably just heard every word that he and Konohamaru just said to each other. What he didn't understand, was how Sasuke was behaving. Naruto reasoned that he would maybe be happy that someone had killed the man who'd murdered his family, but to Naruto, Sasuke looked horribly sad.

'_What the heck do I do? Should I just leave? Should I SAY something? What the heck should I say? He looks really messed up…' _"Hey." Silence. "Hey…ugh…" Naruto approached the other boy cautiously. He didn't want to have a throwing star suddenly chucked at his head, after all. "…Sasuke?" He knelt down in front of him. '_Maybe he's sleeping?'_ That's almost what it looked like to Naruto. Sasuke was sitting against the wall with his knees drawn up to his chest. His head was slumped forward and his arms were wrapped around his head. Naruto had fallen asleep like that himself a few times…in class…or in detention…or…

Sasuke's arms fell away and dropped lifelessly to his sides. He lifted his head slowly and directed his eyes at the person kneeling in front of him. Naruto jumped back a little. He was freaked out by the look on Sasuke's face. He'd never seen anyone look like that before. He looked like all the life had been drained from him and he was simply waiting for death to come and take him away. His eyes just seemed to hang there, out of focus, in a dead stare.

"Hhh…hey man…you okay?" Naruto's voice was trembling and breathy. He hadn't meant for it to come out like that but it couldn't be helped.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly. His lips curled at the edges in a way that made it look like he was about to smile, but he didn't. "No." Naruto almost didn't hear him. Maybe he _didn't_ really hear him. Maybe he'd only seen the boys lips move.

"C-can I…can I do…anything…for you?" He didn't know what else to say. What else was there to say?

"…go away."

Naruto didn't have to be asked twice. He wanted to get the hell as far away from that guy as he could as soon as possible. He stumbled back and stood up. Glancing down at the other boy he felt compelled to speak again. "Look man, ugh… I didn't mean to yell at you earlier… I was… kind of… having a bad day." '_That was so stupid! Just keep your idiot mouth shut and leave before he gets up and kicks the shit of you!'_ He turned and started to leave but Sasuke's voice stopped him.

"…my brother…"

Naruto glanced over his shoulder. "That guy from earlier is your brother?"

"That man…murdered my brother."

Naruto was officially confused, but after he had a moment to think about it, he realized what Sasuke had just said. The stranger who helped him earlier had killed Sasuke's brother. That had to mean that Sasuke's brother…was the one who murdered his clan. "That really sucks man. I didn't know… sorry." He didn't know what else to say, so he left. He didn't see the other boy look up and watch him as he made his way down the street towards his apartment. He also didn't see as that boy got to his feet and ran out towards the edge of town, towards the training grounds. For some reason though, the words that the stranger said to him earlier kept repeating in his head.

'_All Leaf Shinobi are comrades. One must never abandon his precious comrades when they are in need.'_

The day after tomorrow, he was going to be a Leaf Shinobi too. So was Sasuke.

DUNDUNDUUUUUUN! To be continued in the next episode……..

"…That Day…"

Hope it wasn't a TOTAL waste of time for you….grin


	4. That Day

MWAHAHAHAHA! Sorry…sometimes I can't help it.

NOTE: So my boyfriend tells me that he thinks I did Sasuke out of character in this chapter…that's very possible, but in MY mind, this is the way I picture Sasuke…all emotionally challenged and what not…So yeah, um…don't bitch please. 

DISCLAIMER …or whatever: um, yeah…if I owned Naruto, I would say screw collage and just do nothing but Naruto all day long…Eats a Snickers

WARNINGS: Language and violence…nothing too naughty...yet. A little sumthin' sumthin' this time! NaruSasu-ish…but it ain't how you are thinking! Naughty, dirty, bad, bad! Heehee. ;) (hint: Heavy Breathing and Knife Play)

Enough of my idiot babbling…on with the friggin' story!

…..That Day…

Naruto awoke with the sun in his eyes. He grumbled and pulled his night cap down to shield them from the early morning glare. Tomorrow. Tomorrow he would officially be a Ninja of the Leaf. He had a lot of work to do today. He hadn't exactly been taking it easy during his week off, but he knew that he should have been training more. He'd wasted one whole day just trying to teach Konohamaru how to use his Sexy technique! Then there was yesterday. He'd barely accomplished anything at all! Except for getting his ass kicked…and then that encounter with Sasuke…

"Ughahhh…." He shivered despite himself. "Why's that guy gotta be so…CREEPY!" He still felt sorry for him though. Naruto thought that he had to be having a rough time after hearing all that…information.

'_All Leaf Shinobi are comrades. One must never abandon his precious comrades when they are in need.'_

Naruto huffed and got out of bed. He fumbled around in his 'kitchen' and managed to fill up his kettle with water and start it on the hot plate without causing too much of a ruckus. The endless mountains of clutter proved a formidable obstacle though. He thought that one of these days he was going to have to pick up all that stuff and find a home for it, but he was too busy with training to be bothered with that sort of thing. He'd studied almost constantly for the final exam at the Ninja Academy in the weeks leading up to graduation, and he'd still failed that test! What the heck was he doing wrong? He was thankful that Iruka sensei had allowed him to finally graduate after he'd learned Shadow Replication. He briefly wondered about whatever happened to Mizuki as he dug around for a training uniform that didn't smell or have too much blood on it. One of these days though, he was going to run out of orange. He figured he should wash his clothes sometime soon.

He managed to find an acceptable pair of pants and slid them on as the kettle began to whistle. With a practiced efficiency he grabbed a cup of ramen and yanked off the plastic with his teeth and used the other hand to pull the kettle off the hot plate. He also used his teeth to bite at the cover on the cup and pull it back half way. He poured the water, replaced the cover, turned off the hot plate, and dropped the kettle back on it. Three minutes to finish getting ready.

He dashed to the bathroom and stuck his head in the sink, letting the freezing cold water run over the back of his head, thus waking himself up completely. He toweled his hair and ran his fingers through it a few times, then brushed his teeth. He didn't bother with silly things to make him smell good or look nice. Everyone hated him anyway, so why did he need to impress them? It sure made it easier to get ready in three minutes!

He ate his 'breakfast in a cup' with a smile, and then he checked his pack, making sure he had enough weapons to practice with, and hurried out the door.

Sasuke had fallen asleep underneath the tree he'd been trying to murder the previous night. Deep gouges were torn into the bark. He'd slashed at it repeatedly until his hand cramped up. He finally gave up after the kunai had become dull and wouldn't cut it anymore. He jammed it into the tree as hard as he could. He'd tried to pull it out again but it wouldn't budge and he was exhausted. That was at the end of his little 'training session'. He didn't know how long he'd been at it, but he got tired and just decided to lie down. It wasn't like anyone would miss him if he didn't go home, so, he just fell asleep. His sleep was surprisingly peaceful, considering he usually woke up in a cold sweat, screaming, or gasping for breath. He didn't have to worry about those things he saw in his dreams anymore though, did he.

Those days were gone now. The man who'd come yesterday had taken all that away from him. He took away the things that Sasuke dreamed of. He'd taken away the only thing he'd been living for these past few years. He'd taken away the life of the man he'd dreamed of killing. He'd taken his brother's head.

As he was falling asleep, Sasuke wondered if it had been quick. Was the decapitation the final blow? Sasuke hoped not. That's not how he would have done it. He would have done it slow. He would have tortured his brother until he begged for the death that he'd so readily delivered to the rest of his family. Yeah, Sasuke dreamed of killing him slowly. His favorite was the one where he kept his brother alive simply to continue torturing him. He'd imagined it with stunning clarity. The way he'd caress his brothers pale skin with the edge of his blade, the way he'd press just a little bit, just barely breaking the skin. He'd do it again and again until his brother moaned in agony. How would his brother's blood taste? He knew how his own blood tasted. Would his taste the same? He'd lick the blade clean and laugh as Itachi lay there, helpless to defend himself. He wanted to make Itachi wait for death…the way he made their parents wait…for just the right moment. But then, maybe he'd hold off…just a little longer. He knew he wouldn't want to stop so easily. He wondered how long he could keep his brother…as his toy.

These thoughts are what calmed Sasuke now. They were also the only thing that excited him. On and on he dreamed of that moment, suspended in eternity. After that moment came, there was nothing else. Nothing left for him. That was the only thing he wanted. That moment…forever. The end of his brother's life, for Sasuke, meant the end of his own life as well. He'd never imagined that there would be anything else after it.

Now, there he lay, with nothing, alone. He didn't even have his dreams anymore. That man from the picture had come and taken everything from him. He'd taken away the purpose of his life. He'd taken away his revenge. And Sasuke hadn't even got to see it. He was pissed. That's why he'd tried to murder that tree. He had to do something to get that feeling again. He wanted to feel alive. At the same time he cursed his barren existence. He didn't want to think about what he was going to do now that his brother was gone from his life. He just wanted to feel alive. He needed to kill something.

Naruto was surprised when he got to his usual training spot and found it…different…from when he'd seen it last.

"What the hell?" The ground around the area had been charred and all that remained was a scorched patch of dirt. There were various weapons and bits of wood lying around near it. He glanced around looking for some evidence of what had happened to his grassy little clearing in the woods. Who hell had destroyed it? At the edge of the trees he found all the evidence he needed to determine the culprit. That was probably him over there. '_That bastard. What the hell did he do? Just trash this place until he passed out?' _He approached the clearing's other 'occupant'. He cringed when his eyes met with the tree that had been Sasuke's last 'victim'. There was a bloody kunai still sticking out of one of the gashes. Upon closer inspection, he also noticed that the kunai was actually bent, and probably couldn't be pulled out of the tree. '_Holy shit.'_ He looked down at the boy who was lying at the foot of the tree. "Hey." He nudged at him with his foot. "Hey!" The boy didn't move. "You're in my spot." He held off on calling him 'bastard' like he usually did. "Wake up." When he went to nudge him again, for some reason…something happened…and he was on his back on the ground and something was pressing on his neck.

Startled, Sasuke grabbed his attacker's ankle and pushed it up and away with a quick burst of strength. The attacker, losing his balance, was thrown back onto the grass. Sasuke was up and on top of him before he even hit the ground. He'd, of course, had a weapon ready by that time. Fortunately he'd recognized his 'attacker' a split second before he plunged his blade into the soft skin of the 'attacker's' neck. He met with a pair of terrified blue eyes. They were a strange shade of blue. Too dark. No one else had eyes that color. He wasn't even aware of his awkward position on top of the boy. He simply lay there, with his kunai dangerously close to the boy's neck, staring into those eyes. '_The sky. In the evening. If you look up just as the sun is going down. That's the color. That blue. That's him.'_

"Dead Last. What are you doing here?" His tone was that flat, bored sounding, snobbish vocalization that just rubbed Naruto the wrong way.

"I come here every morning to train you freak! Get the fuck off me!" Sasuke didn't move. He didn't want to. He stared at those eyes. They weren't scared anymore. They were angry. He was angry too. He imagined what it would feel like if he just made a tiny slice…right in his neck. What would he do? Would he try to fight? Or would he just lay there and let him do it? He wanted him to fight back so bad. He pictured the body below him kicking and screaming as he stuck him with his knife over and over until the kicking and screaming stopped. "COME ON BASTARD! GET OFF! And turn off your freaky eye thing too while your at! You crazy freak!"

"What did you just say?" Sasuke was shaken from his daze by the boy's mention of his eyes.

"I said…GET! THE! _FUCK!_ OFF! ME! _YOU _FREAK!"

"Do you see something in my eyes, Dead Last?" He said pushing his blade just a hair closer into the other boy's skin.

"YES! INSANITY! YOU PSYCHOPATH!" Naruto thought he might actually die after that, but he couldn't help it! He hated that guy THAT much! Damn it all if he had a big mouth that he couldn't quite control. That was something that just NEEDED to be said! He closed his eyes and tilted his head back a little to relieve the pressure that was being put on his neck.

Sasuke thought that the way the boy tilted his head, that he was just asking him to slit his fucking throat. It was funny. He laughed. He hadn't done that in long time. He actually couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed like that. Dead Last was funny. He was funny, and he'd probably just awakened his clan's blood line skill within him. This was not an unpleasant thing. Still laughing, he lowered his kunai and pushed himself off the other boy.

Naruto quickly scrambled back and sat up, rubbing the skin of his neck and panting. '_The Uchiha bastard is insane. He's completely insane. He's snapped. He's just… gone mad.' _That's what Naruto was thinking as he rubbed his neck. When he removed his hand he saw a tiny smear of blood. '_Yeah. That's what happened. He just went crazy. That's gotta be it.'_

Sasuke examined what he'd done to Naruto's neck. He was surprised that Dead Last was still there. He figured he would have run away after he got off him. He'd gotten a little too excited and accidentally cut his skin…just a little. While he was looking though, he noticed something he hadn't noticed before. He saw…something…chakra? It was seeping through Dead Last's body, up to where the skin had been punctured. This was interesting. It seemed like…the chakra…was fixing the wound…interesting. He didn't know that Dead Last could do that.

"So…you're like…different…now…" Naruto was trying desperately to find some kind of something to say to the freshly insane boy that was staring at his neck like he wanted to take a bite out of it. Why was he still there again? He should be running far, far away by now. Screw it! He wouldn't let that Uchiha bastard beat him like that! He didn't care if he was crazy! He'd show him!

"How am I different, Dead Last?"

"You know what? I have a name. I don't care if you ARE an Uchiha AND a nut case! You fucking talk to me with some respect if you want me to answer you!"

All Sasuke wanted was for Naruto to tell him what he saw in his eyes, he didn't even notice it when he called him Dead Last. He did it on reflex. It was something that he'd just always done. He was amused at Naruto's demand for respect. Sasuke didn't even know what it felt like to be picked on. No one had ever picked on him, unless you counted his older brother…but he didn't count anymore. Everyone respected Sasuke because he was an Uchiha, everyone except for Naruto. Was that why?

"Fine. Uzumaki. What do you see in these eyes? ...Dead Last."

Naruto strode over to where Sasuke was still sitting. He reached into his pouch and pulled out a kunai as he walked. When he got near, he held out the kunai and brought it around in a slash. A bold move. Sasuke, however, was top of the class for a reason, and brought up his own kunai to block. Naruto leaned closer and got in Sasuke's face. "Look for yourself."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as Naruto peered at him calmly. Defiantly. He glanced down at the kunai that Naruto was holding. He held the blade in such a way that the flat edge was facing Sasuke's eyes. His reflection gazed back at him. He smiled at what he saw. This was definitely not unpleasant. He saw the Mirror Wheel Eye staring back at him. This was definitely a good day. "Thank you." Dead Last deserved _something_ for doing him such a favor.

"Since you're here, why don't we have a friendly little spar?" Naruto jerked the kunai back and slid it into his pack with one quick gesture.

"I don't have time to play with a loser that can't even do a Bunshin!"

"CHE! I know a technique that is waaay cooler than that stupid Bunshin technique. Why don't you let me try it out on you?"

"Are you trying to fight me, Dead Last? Ha! Ha!"

"I know you're top of the class, and I'm just a dead last, drop out, but that doesn't mean that I can't outlast you. I've got stamina to spare."

"You won't be able to out last me if I kill you."

"So? What? Are you afraid I'll kick your ass, Bastard? Come on! Why don't you show me what your freaky lookin' _Uchiha_ eyes do?" Sasuke didn't reply. Instead he got up and rushed Naruto, kunai in hand. He slammed the kunai directly into Naruto's chest. There was a loud 'poof' and Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke. When smoke cleared, he saw the clearing had become full with Dead Lasts! He knew that what he'd just attacked was not a Bunshin because Bunshin have no form. They're just an illusion. But he saw the chakra pattern in it. It was a solid thing. He couldn't tell which one was the real Naruto though because the whole crowd of them had the same chakra pattern. "This is my Shadow Replication Skill. Let's see how long you can go!"

Sasuke rushed into the crowd of bodies, slashing as he went. Each time he struck, the opponent would disappear into a puff of smoke. It went on like that for a while. Naruto used that time to watch his opponent and study his technique. He couldn't tell from the actual combat what skill those eyes gave him.

He wasn't surprised when his opponent released a Giant Fireball and took out a bunch of his clones. He'd seen him use that skill before. Giant Fireball was the skill that had all of teachers at the Academy raving over Sasuke. He thought it was about time to change his position and summon more clones.

"Not bad! Uchiha Bastard!" some of Naruto's clones sang out, drawing Sasuke's attention from the area he'd chose to hide in next. It also served to distract his opponent while he formed the seals to summon the next wave of clones.

Sasuke continued to attack the remaining clones, there was a loud noise and a whole new crowd of them was rushing him. He was actually glad. He couldn't believe how good it felt to be able to fight like this, with no restriction. He wasn't holding back at all. He attacked each clone as if it was a living, breathing, thing, and he was annihilating them. He loved the way his blade would actually puncture the 'skin' and they would appear to bleed right before they disappeared. It felt almost real. He hadn't ever fought anyone like this before. No one ever wanted to fight him. He was 'Sasuke Uchiha'. He was too good for them to even try.

Naruto watched as his opponent ran, slashing through the mass of bodies that he'd created. Even though he was mad that the Uchiha Bastard was able to deal with them so quick and gracefully, he was excited to be able to have a REAL match. Nobody ever wanted to train with him; he was just a dead last loser. He wasn't good enough to train with. So he always had to train alone. It wasn't an easy thing to try to come up with strategies to defeat opponents when the only opponent was your self. This didn't even feel like training though. He was actually having fun for a change.

The boys were too busy trying to kill each other to notice that they were being watched. A shadow had crept up on them and rooted itself to a tree, just close enough too see the battle unobstructed, but just far enough away to go unnoticed. A pair of red, 'demon' eyes peered at them, studying their every move.

He wasn't planning on catching Naruto in the middle of a huge brawl when he asked old man Hokage where he was likely to find his 'ward'. He'd actually planned on introducing himself and maybe getting to know the kid a little. They were going to be spending a great deal of time together now, after all. That would have to wait though, he guessed.

Obito was terribly impressed with what he was seeing. The absolute ferocity that these two were using against each other was excellent! He couldn't believe he was watching a match between two young Genin, no, two academy students! They weren't even Genin yet! True, he was already a Chuunin for a while when he was their age, but times were different back then. Those times were plagued with war. One was NEVER too young to become a shinobi in those days. There were no 'children' back then. He recalled his old comrade, who'd proved that point by becoming a Chuunin at age six. He pushed the thought away and focused on the 'here and now'. These were going to be his students! He laughed to himself about how they didn't even know it yet.

He hadn't even been back for two whole days and now he was going to be an instructor for a team of Genin hand picked by the Fire Shadow himself. How'd he ever end up in that situation? He wasn't even planning on staying in Konoha this long. He'd only come back to check on the 'kid' and 'visit' his family and friends at there respective Memorial Shrines, and now he was stuck there, watching his young ward and his only remaining relative going at it like animals. But the boy's fight was beginning to make him think he might actually start to enjoy himself for a change.

He watched them intently. He was very pleased that he'd gotten this chance to see the two of them fight uninterrupted. Naruto, he thought, if he was anything like he imagined he would be, would put up the fight of his life, and Sasuke, he was an Uchiha. Uchiha were known for their 'lust to kill', weren't they? Both of the boys were performing exactly as he pegged them. Naruto was gradually wearing his opponent down, little by little, waiting for his moment to strike, and Sasuke, was probably imaging the face of his brother every time he swung that kunai.

Obito found that he couldn't wait until tomorrow, when he got to meet his team 'officially' for the first time. He wondered what the little girl would be like. If she was anything like her male counterparts, she would probably be extraordinary. The Hokage had chosen her for them specifically, after all. She was supposed to be good at genjutsu. He knew tons of genjutsu he could show her. She was supposed to be the smartest girl in their class, so it should be easy enough for her to learn it with a little instruction.

It was going to be fun teaching these three, he thought. He'd spent ten years wondering around the continent, the whole time spent searching for new jutsus to copy. He now, had three students that had enormous potential. He wanted to teach them everything he'd learned. The only one that he was really worried about was Sasuke. That kid probably slept with a kunai as a child, instead of a teddy bear! He wasn't sure what to do about him. It would be a waste if he didn't make that kid the absolute best ninja he could be, but there was still that risk… what would happen if that kid snapped and defected? That was a mess he didn't want to have to deal with, but still, he'd given his word to old man Hokage that he wouldn't allow Sasuke to be corrupted. He couldn't take it back. Obito felt that was the way a true shinobi was supposed to behave.

He couldn't believe it. After so long, he was again, a Shinobi of The Leaf. Suddenly, a funny thought struck him and he pulled out his Hitai-ate. He studied it. He hadn't worn it in ten years, yet, he still carried it with him. That whole time he thought himself such a fool, for not letting go of things that had let go of him a long time ago. Now, he could wear that mark proudly again. He romanced the idea of pulling down his goggles so he could tie it around his forehead. _Nah. That will have to wait until tomorrow._

They'd been there all morning, and most of the afternoon. There was no way Naruto was going to let that Uchiha Bastard beat him! He was starting to run low on chakra. What was up with this guy? He just kept going! Naruto was said by his teachers to have the rare curse of too much damned energy, and there he was, worn out and tired and ready to drop. He was getting a little pissed. Why wouldn't that bastard drop from exhaustion? What was he? Some kind of beast? He'd killed enough clones to fill a small village by now AND HE JUST KEPT GOING! Naruto had just about had enough. He had to end it quick.

How much chakra did Dead Last have? This was getting ridiculous! Yeah, he was enjoying himself, but he didn't want to pass out before he got the chance to knock Dead Last on his ass again. That little punk had a smart mouth and he was going to have it personally shut by him damn it! This fight needed to end, and quick!

Naruto assumed that Sasuke would think him just a clone, so he readied himself and charged at his opponent. He knew he would have to be careful not to take a kunai right in the heart. That seemed to be the target that Sasuke most aimed for. Sometimes he went for the throat, sometimes for the main arteries in the legs, or the tendons and muscles in the arms, but most of the time he'd gone for the major organs. Of those times, Sasuke mainly aimed for the heart. In fact, whenever a clone had attacked him from the front, and he wasn't distracted by another clone, that's when he would lunge for a body shot. The angle of collision determined which organ Sasuke would strike. Naruto took care to come at him just right, so he could predict the blow he had to dodge in order to hit his mark.

Sasuke watched as the clone approached him. With minimal effort, he gauged the trajectory of the attack. He readied himself and waited for just the right moment. Then he'd strike. It was like a reflex. He didn't even have to try any more to do it. He just did it instinctively. He moved to make a one hit kill.

Naruto was already screaming at the top of his lungs when the blade pierced his left fore arm between the bones. It wasn't possible for him to scream twice at one. '_That hurt like a bitch!'_ Before he knew it, he found himself horizontal with his kunai pressing dangerously close to his opponent's neck. _Got you Bastard!_

Sasuke hit the ground hard but he didn't even feel it. He was still too amped up from the fight to notice the sting that was now coming from his neck. His focus was on those eyes. He had to blink a couple of times. '_Not the sky.'_ No, these eyes were not the color of the evening sky. These eyes, Naruto's eyes…were the same color as the moist droplets that were trickling down on his face and neck.

Naruto grinned down at his opponent. He couldn't help it. He'd forgotten about the 'stabbing' pain in his left arm. He was too charged from his accomplishment. This was the best damn fight he'd ever had! Sasuke's eyes had reverted to their natural, black as sin. Naruto inwardly cheered about that. The best part was seeing the look on that Bastard's face when he finally realized his position. That had only lasted for a second though before it reverted to the usual 'I'm bored' look.

Sasuke tightened his grip on the kunai that was currently stuck between the bones in Dead Last's left arm. Its position had shifted during the fall and it was now situated so the wide edge of the blade couldn't fit between them to be pulled out. He twisted it with a jerk. Dead Last didn't even flinch. He still held his kunai steady on Sasuke's throat.

Naruto grinned again when he felt Sasuke turn the blade so he could try to pull it out. He quickly adjusted his arm so the blade twisted back, trapping it again. He bent his arm back, as if pulling back for a punch, taking away Sasuke's ability to attempt another try at yanking it out.

At first, Sasuke tried to hold on to the kunai. He struggled against the strength of Dead Last's left arm pulling away from him. He felt the blade at his throat push just a tiny bit harder. His own left arm was being pinned down by Dead Last's knee. He was too damned tired. He let go of the kunai. Naruto was panting pretty heavily now. Sasuke couldn't get past how he was able to take the pain of what he had just done to him. Sasuke had, of course been stabbed before, by accident, but still. It was by no means something that felt good. He felt the pressure being released from his left arm.

Naruto stood up. He looked down at his opponent, still panting. Sasuke looked calm, like nothing had happened. He put away his Kunai and reached up for the one that was piercing his other arm. He grabbed it by the blade side and yanked the handle the rest of the way through. He let out what sounded like a cry of relief and tossed the bloodied weapon back to its owner.

Sasuke caught the knife with out thinking and tried to make his way to a sitting position. He slumped forward letting his arms fall between his knees. He stuck the kunai into the ground in front of him and looked up at his new rival. "That was pretty stupid, Dead Last."

"Yeah…I know…" He was taking in giant heaving breaths between his words. "…but I'm…the last one…standing…" His voice trailed off as his knees began to buckle and he fell flat on his back in the dirt.

"Dead Last?"

TA!MUTHAFUCKIN!DA!

NARU V.S. SASU! YAY! I'm doing the happy dance, even as I type this.

Hope to see you again next time! "…When They Became Genin…"

Thanks for reading!

Ghostninja85—MistressofdragonsYami Jayakuma-river

………I stand here weeping before you……

You have brightened up my day! Snuggles

smacks herself for not doing homework


	5. When They Baceme Genin

KUKUKUKUKU! (Pst….that means "evil laughing" is taking place.)

Oh the things I have in mind for this chapter…sigh…I just can't wait to finish typing it! AH! Okay here I go.

OKAY! I gotta say thanks to everyone who reviewed! feels warm and fuzzy Tears of joy spill from my eyes….now lets all pray I keep interest in this fic until it's done! AHHHH!

NOTE! Okay, if Sasuke was ever OOC in the last chapter, then he is definitely not going back anytime soon. For he belongs toME now (for the purposes of this fic of course…) and he will do as I see fit. Or else.

Also, akumariver told me that the English and Japanese translations don't mix… Here is my reasoning… this fic is in English, so I use the Japanese words as kind of a 'proper' thing, or whatever. Like… when I say 'Mirror Wheel Eye' I am assuming that everyone knows that it is actually Sharingan. Sharingan is its 'proper title'. Shadow Replication is the same way. Naruto calls out "Kage Bunshin." when he uses it. Get it? Basically, all things having to do with the 'ninja' world will be like this from time to time. Like Hokage Fire Shadow, Mizu Kage Water Shadow, Kaze Kage Wind Shadow, etc. It gives me a wider variety of words I guess. I like it.

One last thing, Sasuke calls Naruto "Dead Last" for a reason. I didn't want to use "Dobe" because I actually had a plan when I wrote this and Dead Last is part of that plan. smiley

Crap! I forgot, Ghostninja85, Sasuke didn't just now go crazy… he's been crazy. That will be revealed later. Maybe in this chapter? Next for sure, if not.

Get ready! Here comes Sakura! Oh…this is going to be fun.

Disclaimer…or whatever: um, yeah…if I owned Naruto, I would say screw college and just do nothing but Naruto all day long…(snickers to self) I can't spell for shit.

Warnings: Language and violence…nothing too naughty...yet. Yaoi? Um…nah…not yet anyway. But perhaps…(grin)………Okay there is going to be some mild smut this time, but oh man…you'll see.

Enough of my idiot babbling…on with the friggin' story!

…When They Became Genin…

Naruto awoke with the sun in his eyes…a lot of sun! He tried to pull his night cap down to shield his eyes from the early morning glare. His fingers found nothing but a mess of blonde hair. '_What the heck?'_ Where could his hat have gone? He never slept without it! Wait a minute. He didn't remember putting it on before he went to sleep. He didn't remember going to sleep! Naruto's eyes snapped open.

"What the hell is _THIS_?" He glanced around at his surroundings. There was huge window looking out towards town. He turned. He was in a bed. A HUGE bed. It was fluffy and soft and had lots of fluffy pillows…all black. "What the hell?" What was he doing here? What was this place?

The room was almost bare. There was a dresser with nothing on it, a bedside table, a lamp, and a chair. There was a closet, but the door was closed. Naruto sat up and tried to crawl over to the edge of the bed to check out the floor, but he winced when he put weight on his left arm. He looked down at it...

"What the hell?" There were two THICK pieces of gauze taped to his left fore arm, one on each side. His thoughts drifted back in time, to when this incident had occurred…

_'That was pretty stupid, Dead Last.'_

What happened after that? He found that he had no idea.

"What…what?" This was no hospital. It couldn't be. He shook his head in confusion. This matter needed further investigating immediately! He checked the rest of his body. His jacket was gone. His mesh shirt was still there though. He peeked under the covers. His pants were still on. That was good. No shoes. Not too much was missing. Now for faze two.

He scooted himself over to the edge of the bed and swung his feet over. He tested his legs. Yep, they worked okay. '_Okay. Now then. Proceed to the door. Slide it open… very, very, slowly. Just a tiny peek.'_

The door opened into another large room… huge room in fact. It was almost as bare as the one he'd woke up in. There was another large window. It covered almost the whole wall. The smell of sandalwood and peppermint hovered faintly in the air. '_Incense…?'_ Not sensing any murderous intent, he slid the door open a bit more and peeked his head out. That's when he saw him.

"What the hell?" That's the only thing he could think to say. There, before his eyes, was the Bastard that had done the damage to his arm. He sat reclined on a black futon that was folded into a 'couch'. He was naked from the waist up and his hair fell messily into his eyes. He held a bowl of… something. It was crunchy. He was chewing whatever it was, slowly. Naruto noticed a couple of bruises on his pale skin. He wondered if it was from their fight. That would be cool.

Sasuke turned his gaze from his breakfast to regard his 'guest'. He leisurely finished chewing and sat forward. The Dead Last was staring at him like he'd walked in on him gutting a child or something. Sasuke decided he'd better explain himself. "I don't know where you live." He took another bite of his cereal.

Naruto's mouth was hanging open now. Sasuke's crunching was the only sound that could be heard. Slowly, Naruto slid the door the rest of the way open and stepped out of Sasuke's bedroom. He looked around again, getting a better view of his surroundings, but still said nothing.

The room wasn't exactly bare, per say, but it seemed that way to Naruto at first because he was used to having a lot of stuff…everywhere. It was actually, sort of, decorated? The futon was pushed against the wall opposite the huge window. There was a rectangular glass table in front of it. On the table, there was a box of…something… a bottle of milk, and a banana. There were other various items, but Naruto's attention was drawn from the table to the contents of the wall he was facing. About fifty kunai were hanging by their loops from hooks that had been arranged to form a decoration. Like three curved lashes in a triangular pattern, bending into each other, with a circle around it. His eyes drifted from that to a row of vertical shelves that held, what looked like, old books and scrolls. There was a desk in the corner that held a wrought iron candelabra with black candles in it. He then noticed that there seemed to be candles everywhere. There were sconces on the wall, shelves with pillars of them, and little ones strewn about here and there. All black. He thought his head would spin. He glanced back over to his 'host'.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at his 'guest'. He reached over and set his bowl down on the table, then grabbed the banana and pulled off the skin. He reached his hand underneath the pillow that was next to him and pulled out a kunai. He used this to slice pieces of the banana into his bowl while he continued speaking. "I couldn't take you to the hospital because they would have asked me questions." He filled up his bowl with more cereal and squished it down, wetting it with the milk. "Don't just stand there like an idiot, please. You're freaking me out." Again he was crunching.

"Ugh…sorry." '_I'Mfreaking HIM out?' _Naruto crept across the room and sat on the opposite end of the futon. He tried to force himself to say something, but from this proximity, he could see the bruises on Sasuke's bare torso more clearly. It was distracting. One of them looked downright nasty. Naruto didn't bruise easily, and when he did, it usually faded within a few hours or so. He didn't understand why Sasuke's bruise looked so bad. Was that from him? He couldn't remember. There were too many clones' memories to try to sort through to determine if the blow had come from one of them. Like he could remember exactly where they'd hit him! He'd only just learned that technique, after all.

"This one hurts if I move wrong." He rubbed the tender contusion gently. "I plan on getting you back for it." Sasuke said when he noticed Naruto staring. He got up and sat the bowl down on the table, then crossed the expanse of the room and opened a door. He stepped in for a moment and reappeared holding a bundle of orange. He tossed it to Naruto who caught it on reflex. "I couldn't get the blood out."

Naruto turned and faced him. He was surprised. No, he was shocked beyond belief. He looked down at his jacket. One of the sleeves was stained just slightly brownish-orange. "That's okay…I've got another."

Sasuke still stood in the doorway. He pushed open the door all the way so Naruto could see inside. "The bathroom." He walked back and slumped down in his previous spot. He picked up his bowl and continued munching. "You might want to wash." _Crunch, crunch, crunch._ "You smell." _Crunch, crunch, crunch._ There was a pause. "What are you waiting for? Your stink is ruining my breakfast."

"Ugh…Oh yeah…ugh…yeah…" Naruto got up, hurried into the bathroom, and closed the door. He stood there for a moment in a daze. '_What the hell is going on?_

_This is where Sasuke…lives? This is so creepy.' _He examined the bandages on his arm. '_Sasuke…did this. Why? Why didn't he just leave me in the clearing?'_ The fact that a normal person could have bled to death from the wound he'd received didn't even register to him. He was busy trying to understand why Sasuke helped him.

He gritted his teeth and tugged at the tape that held the gauze on his arm. It yanked out some tiny hairs. He tried his hardest not to howl at the sting, but he still let out a little whine. Free from the tape, he pulled back the gauze and checked out his wound. '_YUCK!'_ It was pretty nasty looking, but still surprisingly not as bad as it should have been. He didn't know what it looked like yesterday. Yesterday it had been a gaping, bleeding hole. If you were to hold it up to the sun, you would have been able to see through it. Now, it was just a swollen, puffy, crusty scab with some kind of salve smeared over it. He imagined Sasuke, attending to his wound with careful hands, as he lay unconscious on that huge bed. He cringed. It was not something that was easy for him to picture.

Sasuke heard Naruto's little yelp through the door. He wondered how that wound was doing. That was the most idiotic thing he'd ever seen anyone do…but it was clever. He mentally kicked himself for allowing Dead Last that much time to study his attack pattern. He never in a million years would have pegged him for the type to put up such a fight. He'd seen enough of Naruto to come to the conclusion that the guy was complete jack ass, so what the hell happened yesterday? And his arm…

"_Dead Last?"_

"…"

"_Hey!"_

"…"

"_Shit."_

Sasuke got up and approached his fallen rival. He knelt down and placed two fingers just under the line of Naruto's jaw. His pulse was strong…but that was bad as much as it was good. He looked at Naruto's arm. Blood oozed out of it in tune with his pulse. What the hell was wrong with him? Didn't he know that kind of wound was likely to bleed him out? It was a vertical slash too. Damn it. Why would he pull a stunt like that when he wasn't even in a real battle?

"Hn! Wanted to be the last one standing so bad you'd risk your life for it? Idiot."

Sasuke tore off one of the sleeves of his shirt and ripped it down the middle, making it into one long strip. He tied it around the Dead Last's arm just above the elbow, tourniquet style. It slowed the bleeding. Good. Now what the hell was he gunna do with him? He ripped off the other sleeve and tied it around the wound while he went over his options. He thought about what he would tell the nurses at the hospital when the asked what happened to him. '_Oh, well I tried to slit his throat and he got mad and tried to fight me, so I stabbed him. But its okay cuz I thought he was a clone.'_ That would sound just great.

As he lifted his rivals body off the ground he remembered what he'd seen earlier…when he's cut Dead Last's neck. '_That weird chakra…'_ He looked at where the cut had been. It was gone. Not even a scar. That was fortunate. He focused for a moment and forced out his Sharingan to examine Naruto's arm. The weird chakra was there. It was faint, but it was there doing its work. Good. He ran, carrying his rival to the only other place he could think to go.

Sasuke finished his breakfast and decided to get dressed. Dead Last was out of the shower. He could hear him fumbling around in there as he walked to his room. He dressed quickly and headed back out to the main room to gather his gear. Dead Last was out of the bathroom and was eyeing the box on the table suspiciously. "Are you hungry?"

Naruto jumped at the voice. He hadn't heard him approach. He wrinkled his nose and pointed to the box. "Is this shit really food?"

Sasuke sighed. Where the hell did this guy come from? Another planet? "It's puffed rice, Dead Last. Yes. It qualifies as food."

Naruto grabbed the box and sniffed its contents. He paused. His expression changed. "Why am I here?"

"I told you. I didn't know where you lived, and I wasn't going to take you to the hospital."

"Yeah, but…" He looked up at Sasuke, "Why didn't you just leave me there?" He took Sasuke by surprise. His eyes were steady and questioning. He really couldn't understand.

'_Is he really serious?'_ "Dead Last, you could have bled to death yesterday. Are you too stupid to understand that, or are you just ungrateful?" Naruto's eyes looked hurt. Sasuke didn't like the way that look made him feel. He didn't like the fact that he even cared at all. It was not something he should have been caring about.

"Look asshole, I'm not used to people actually giving a fuck whether I'm dead or not, that's all. You didn't seem to care yesterday when you were about to give me a new 'smile'. So why, after I kicked your pretty boy ass, did you suddenly decide to worry?"

"First of all, I'd hardly say you kicked my ass, and second, I'm not ruining my career as Ninja just because a fucking Dead Last challenged me to fight and had to resort to kamikazi to fucking beat me! You're an idiot! I wasn't trying to KILL you!" He wasn't…was he? Was he?

"No one would have missed me." He laughed. It sounded sad. "You would have been a hero." He was staring out the window now. "The village would have thrown a party."

"What the fuck are you talking about? What's wrong with you?"

Naruto took a deep breath and sighed. He was out of his daze. "Nothing. Never mind." He grabbed the box and dug his hand in it, pulled out a handful of the crunchy stuff, and shoved it in his mouth. _Crunch, crunch, crunch…_

Sasuke noticed that Naruto had removed his bandages. He saw that the wound had healed exponentially since last night. What the hell kind of power did he have? Was it a Bloodline Skill? Sasuke thought about it for a minute. He realized the he didn't know anyone else in the village with the name Uzumaki. There was no Uzumaki clan. Naruto was an orphan. Just like him. He faintly wondered if maybe that's why the people held a general dislike towards Naruto. Maybe his clan had done something to gain disfavor and the villagers took it out on the only one left. Kind of like how they always treated Sasuke like he was some kind of prodigy. He vainly thought that, had his brother not murdered his clan, he wouldn't have been considered special at all. He would have just blended in with the crowd.

" Here, let me see your arm." Naruto looked at him questioningly, but held out his arm to the other boy. Sasuke examined it. It seemed to be healing faster now, but it was far from being healed. "You should wrap this. It could still get infected." Without thinking he reached into his weapons pack and brought out a roll of bandage and began wrapping it. He didn't notice the weird look that he was getting from Naruto. He just went about it like he did everything else. Not thinking, just acting. He wrapped the bandage around his hand and up his arm to the elbow. It looked pretty normal, he thought. Naruto probably wouldn't be questioned about it. Some ninja always wore wraps.

"What was that stuff you put on it? It's healing really fast."

Sasuke flinched at Naruto's question. '_He doesn't know? How could he not know?'_

"What? Why are you looking at me like that you bastard?"

"I didn't use anything special on it. That was just an ointment. You're healing this yourself."

"Oh…"

"Why…do you heal like that? You know that normal people can't do that, don't you?"

"I…I'm not doing this on purpose! I don't know…"

"What's with your weird chakra?"

He had a good idea now why it healed so fast. It must have been the demon. "It must be Kyuu…" '_Shit!'_ Why did he have such a big mouth?

"What?"

Naruto laughed and scratched at his head. "Oh nothing. Hegh, hegh, hegh."

"What were you going to say Dead Last?"

"Really! It's nothing! I can't talk about it." '_Damn! Why'd you say that? Idiot!'_

"Why not?"

"Look…um…it's forbidden, okay? So quit asking! Geez!" '_Oh great, now I'm going to have to tell him everything.'_

"Whatever. Look, it's almost time for the Orientation meeting." Sasuke reached in his pack and pulled out his Hitai-ate and tied it around his head.

'_Yes! He didn't notice! Wait.' _"What?"

"The meeting. For new Genin. It's almost time for that to start. I'm leaving now."

"That was today? Shit! I gotta go home and get my stuff!" Naruto quickly got up to leave, slamming the cereal box down on the table.

Sasuke briefly thought about slapping Dead Last for making a mess. "Hey, I thought you didn't graduate."

"Hell yeah I graduated! With my new technique, Iruka sensei was forced to recognize my skills!" With that he ran out the door, leaving Sasuke alone and confused…again.

Naruto high tailed it back to his crappy little apartment as fast as he could. This was the day he would become a Genin! He couldn't be late for that! He unlocked the door and tore into his apartment. He had to be quick if he wanted to make it. He had about three minutes to get ready.

He stripped himself of the nasty clothes he was forced to put back on after his shower and dug around to find some new ones. Damn it he was hungry! He didn't have time to eat though. '_Hmph!'_ That Uchiha Bastard would have let him sleep right through that meeting! Well, he didn't really have a reason to wake him. After all, Sasuke didn't even know he'd graduated. He found something semi acceptable and threw it on.

Naruto ran over to his refrigerator and grabbed the first thing he saw. He brought it to his lips. "UGH! BLAAAGHHH! Gross!" He spat the days old milk into the sink. "Nasty!" The carton was tossed into the trash on the way out the door.

Sasuke had gotten there early enough get a window seat. That was good. That horrible girl would try to sit by him, no doubt. He did not want that to happen. He glanced over his shoulder at the door. A trickling stream of brand new Genin started to come through the door. He prayed that girl would not arrive before someone had taken the seat next to him. Why was she so damned…ANNOYING? All she ever did was babble on and on to her little annoying friends about crap that she thought she knew about him. She didn't know him at all! And why the hell did she always want to put her hands on him? Fucking annoying!

He spun back around and watched for her out the window. If he saw her coming, he could just leave and wait till she sat down, then he could sneak back in and sit behind her somewhere. So she wouldn't be able to sit and stare at him or try to talk to him about dumb shit. Then, he heard a familiar voice come from behind him.

"Do you not see this Forehead Protector? I graduated. Dumb ass."

Sasuke turned and saw the Dead Last standing there jabbing a thumb towards his bandana and looking annoyed at the guy he was talking to. A thought struck him. Naruto could sit there. Yeah. Sakura hated him. She wouldn't sit anywhere near where Naruto was. "Dead Last. Come over here." Everyone in the room turned to look at either Naruto or Sasuke. Sasuke never realized that he'd never actually spoken to Naruto in class before.

Naruto stomped over to where the Uchiha bastard was sitting. "What the hell do you want?" He figured that the Bastard wouldn't want anyone to know that he'd been nice to him that morning, so he decided to act as if nothing had occurred at all.

"Sit here." It seemed like a reasonable request. He didn't expect the reaction he got. Everyone in the classroom had turned their eyes to see what was so special that the Uchiha had decided to speak. The room fell silent. It was weird.

"Why would I wanna do that again?" Naruto's expression was a mix of annoyed and surprised.

"Because I told you to. Just do it."

"Ha! Why would I wanna sit next to you! You're a psycho!" The whole class seemed to gasp.

"I want to talk to you."

"I don't wanna talk to you!"

"Damn it Dead Last!" The whole class was staring with wide eyes now. Why did that idiot have to be so damned difficult?

Naruto jumped on top of the desk, crouched down, and got in the Bastard's face. "Who the hell do you think you are? You think just because you're an Uchiha you can just go around ordering people what to do? Well I'm not one of your adoring fans! I don't wanna sit here! I'm going to sit next to Sakura."

Naruto was too busy being pissed off and Sasuke was too busy trying desperately not to beat the shit out Naruto for being a difficult jack ass. Neither noticed that the object of their argument was standing right next to them now… and she was fuming.

"NARUTO! IDIOT! I'll NEVER sit next to you! Get away from Sasuke before you get him dirty!" She drew her arm back swung it around, hitting Naruto directly in the back of his head.

The force of the blow knocked Naruto off balance and he was thrown forward. All Naruto felt was the sting of his lip splitting open as it smacked into the thing in front of him. Then he was being thrown back the way he came, back onto the desk.

"Damn it Sakura! What the hell is wrong with you?" Sasuke looked livid! He was standing now. He spat blood from his mouth and wiped a trickle of it away from his lower lip.

"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry Sasuke! I didn't mean to…" Sakura looked horrified. What had she done? She didn't mean to hit Naruto so hard. She looked down at him lying on the desk rubbing his mouth. "NARUTO! STUPID! HOW COULD YOU TRY TO KISS SASUKE LIKE THAT?" She shoved him. "Move! I'm sitting here!"

"No your not. Dead Last is already sitting here." Sasuke was still glaring at Sakura.

"I'm not sitting here." Naruto was trying to gather his senses and get out the way before Sasuke jumped over the desk and attacked Sakura.

"YES YOU ARE!" Sasuke grabbed him by his shirt and stood him up. He grabbed the boy's tender left arm and applied the tiniest bit of pressure, forcing him down into the chair.

"OWOWOWOW! FINE BASTARD! GEEZ!" Naruto slumped into the chair, not a moment too soon.

"All right everyone take your seats. Let's get started." Iruka entered carrying a stack of folders.

Sakura huffed and slid into the spot next to Naruto. She was extremely pissed when she looked over and saw Sasuke whispering something to Naruto while Iruka began addressing the class.

"Dead Last, meet me on the bench outside at lunch. There's something I want to ask you."

"Tch. Whatever. Bastard."

They all sat quietly listening to Iruka rant on and on about how even though they were now Genin, in the ninja world they were the lowest of the low. It seemed like he'd been talking for hours! Naruto was starting to squirm. '_I'm sooo fucking hungry! I can't stand it!'_ Thinking about lunch, he remembered that he was supposed to meet Sasuke. He hoped the Bastard brought something to eat with him. He thought he'd try to 'guilt' something off him, like maybe he'd complain about how bad his arm hurt and then ask for something to eat. He loved plotting. It was his favorite thing to do, except for eating ramen, that is. His attention was brought back to reality when he heard his name being called.

"Team number seven, Uzumaki, Naruto,… Haruna Sakura,…"

"YES!" Naruto stood and flashed a victory sign. Sakura slammed her head on the desk.

"Are you done Naruto?" Iruka asked the blonde who was still standing there posing.

"Oh! Hee hee." Naruto sat back down and folded his hands triumphantly behind his head.

"Then I'll continue. The last one in team seven is Uchiha, Sasuke."

"OH YEAH!" Sakura jumped out of her seat and turned to flash a victory sign at her 'friend' Ino. Ino, by the way, looked mortified.

"Ha! You hear that Sasuke? Iruka sensei says your last! And I'm first!" He pointed a finger at Sasuke, who had a strange look on his face. Well, that's what everyone else thought anyway.

Sasuke was smiling. He was surprised how excited he was that he was going to be able to train with 'the idiot' every day. That idiot had an excellent technique. He was looking forward to beating the shit out of some more of his clones. He hadn't even registered fully that he was also stuck on a team with that awful annoying girl.

"Actually Naruto, Sasuke graduated with the highest scores, so he is actually first in this class. You, on the other hand, are last. You had the worst scores. That's why you are on the same team. Your scores balance each other out, making your team even." After he said it, Iruka felt a little bad. He and Naruto had become close recently. He didn't want to look like he was playing favorites. He was over compensating.

Sasuke actually had to force himself not to laugh. He smirked and leaned over to whisper something to Naruto. "Dead Last."

Naruto growled and clenched his teeth. He was about to yell something at him when there was a knock on the door.

The whole class lowered their heads in respect for the man who'd just entered. Everyone except for Naruto and Sasuke, that is. The Hokage spoke to Iruka with a hushed voice. When he finished, he turned and raised his hand politely to the class. They all raised their heads. "I would like to extend my best wishes to all of you today. This Village is proud of your accomplishments. I'm very excited to see what fine ninja's you all will become." He smiled, bowed his head slightly, and went back out the door.

Naruto turned and looked at Sasuke, he thought he looked pale. Well more than usual that is. "What the hell do you think that was about?" he whispered.

Sasuke didn't answer him. Instead he looked out the window and waited to see if the Hokage exited the building. He waited and waited for that to happen while Iruka finished announcing the teams. It never happened. When he heard that it was time to break for lunch, Sasuke was positive what the Hokage had come to tell Iruka. That bull shit of him addressing the class was just a cover.

Naruto jumped up and shouted, "It's about damn time! I'm fuckin' starving!" Iruka was not pleased with that comment. "Naruto! That's not appropriate!" Naruto stuck his tongue out, blew a 'raspberry' at his former teacher, and went for the door. Sasuke was just about to get up and follow him when Iruka stopped him. "Sasuke, I need a word with you."

Sasuke was expecting it. "Naruto! Don't forget!"

Naruto turned and looked back at the Bastard. He had a confounded look on his face. '_Did that Bastard just call me by my NAME?' _"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. The bench. Got it." With that he left and went to scrounge up some lunch.

Sasuke turned back to Iruka, who looked a little surprised himself. _'Damn it. I really don't want to deal with this shit right now.'_

"Sasuke…" Iruka was trying to be as tactful as he could. He knew about the whole situation with Itachi of course. What he didn't know, was that Sasuke already knew about it. "The…Hokage… would like to speak with you before you go to lunch."

"Fine. Where is he?" He knew he was going to have to do it sooner of later. He might as well get it out of the way and be done with it.

"You'll find him on the roof, in the pavilion."

"Right." With that, he left Iruka and headed for the roof.

Naruto was agitated. He couldn't stop thinking about how Sasuke had called him by his name. What the heck did that mean? Why would he do that? And what the heck did he want to talk to him about so badly? They were on the same team now after all. They could talk whenever. What was so important that he needed to meet him at the bench? He thought back to that morning.

'_Why…do you heal like that? ... What's with your weird chakra?' _

That had to be it. How the heck was he going to explain that? He didn't want Sasuke to know about him. He was afraid that Sasuke would hate him. That pissed him off because HE was supposed to HATE SASUKE! But he didn't really think he did anymore. Yeah, he was a bastard. Hell, he was THE Bastard! But he wasn't really all that bad of a guy. Well, he was nut case, and he was unpleasant too of course, but Naruto couldn't get past the fact that he knew what it must be like for Sasuke… being alone. Yeah, he knew all about that. Naruto was the king of that realm. At least Sasuke had a family to love him once. He knew what it felt like to be wanted. Naruto thought that maybe that was the problem he'd always had with him. Sasuke was always wanted, and he never was. Naruto wanted to be wanted. By someone, ANYONE! He was tired of being shunned.

He reached into his pocket and brought out his froggy wallet. He grunted when he opened it up and found nothing inside but lint. He remembered that he'd spent his last bit of cash at Ichiraku the night before last and he wasn't going to get another allowance until the end of the week. He grumbled something to himself about how stingy Konoha was about taking care of war orphans, and decided to just go wait for Sasuke to show up at the bench. He'd just use his plan to snake some food out of him when he got there. Sasuke would have food. By the looks of his place, he probably had a huge fucking trust fund! Yeah. He'd have something to for him to eat.

Sakura had a plan. She'd been thinking of it ever since she heard Sasuke tell Naruto (that idiot) to meet him at the bench out side of the school. She figured that Naruto was probably off somewhere stuffing his (idiot) face, and Sasuke, being as perfect as he was, would get there early and have to wait for that idiot to show up. So, it was logical for her to just sit there and wait for him. Then she could ask him to have lunch with her and maybe they could talk. She wanted to apologize for what happened in the class that morning. She should have known that Naruto (that idiot) would be a total clutz. That was awful! It looked like they…KISSED EACH OTHER! She felt so bad! Sasuke must have been horribly embarrassed! Yeah. She'd wait for him and apologize. Then maybe… she could tell him how she felt about him…and maybe he would… Her face got all blushed as she sat down to wait for her crush.

Sasuke approached the old man that was waiting for him in the rooftop garden. His back was to him. He was staring off in the direction of the Hokage Monument, but the old man still knew he was there. Not even turning, the old man said, "Ah, Sasuke, I'm sorry to take you away from your lunch. Thank you for meeting with me. I have an important matter to discuss with you."

"I already know about Itachi."

The old man sighed. "I thought you might. I wanted to be the one to tell you about it, but I thought it would be best to wait until his identity had been confirmed. We were not absolutely sure it was him until last night. It is unfortunate how rumors tend to spread quickly in this village." He paused and glanced back at Sasuke. "When did you hear?"

"The night that man arrived, I overheard your grandson talking to Naruto Uzumaki about it."

"I see." Konohamaru would have to be punished.

"I know he's an Uchiha. Who is he? I've never seen him before."

"His name is Obito. He was once an elite ninja of this village. He was a very talented young man. He became a Missing Nin ten years ago."

"Do you know…how it happened? With my brother?"

"Apparently your brother attacked him. He told me that he killed Itachi while defending himself."

"Ah."

"Sasuke, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine. It's good that he's gone. He won't be able to murder anyone else."

"Yes. That is true."

"Is that man still here in this village? I want to meet him."

"That is what I've come here to discuss with you Sasuke. You will be meeting Obito later on today. He is going to be your Jounin instructor."

"I see."

"That is not all though. I came here to tell you that since he is going to be remaining in this village for the time being, and he is your only living relative, I've ordered you to be place under his custody."

"You don't trust me."

"It isn't that, Sasuke. I just think that it would be good for both of you if he was there to look after you. I worry that you are growing up too fast. I do not like that you have isolated yourself from the other children." He glanced over to Sasuke, who was now leaning on the edge of the building looking down. "You have suffered a great loss, one that no one should have to experience, but you are a still a child. You should be enjoying the youth that you have, not training to become a killer."

"All ninja are killers."

"Yes, but not all of them seek to excel simply for that purpose. There is a deeper meaning to becoming a shinobi that I fear you have not grasped yet. We are killers. Yes. But we become that way for a purpose that is larger than revenge. We are protectors. We seek only the protection of those who cannot protect themselves and it is our ultimate goal to make a better world for them to exist in. That is the primary function of a ninja. We kill only because is sometimes a necessity in achieving that goal."

"Protectors? Where were these 'protectors' when Itachi was murdering my clan? There was no one who could have stopped him! That is my reason for trying to excel. I don't ever want to feel like I need someone else's 'protection'. I want to be the best. I don't feel like I should be punished for that."

"I am not trying to punish you Sasuke. I have faith that you will not continue down the path your brother had set for you. I am ordering you to stay with Obito because he is your family, not because I don't trust you."

"Hn."

"Obito, I think, also needs you. He left this village with ill will for your clan. He was shunned by them. Yet, he cannot disregard what it meant for him to be a part of them. You two share a culture and a history that is nearly gone from this world. I would like to see the two of you be able to restore that culture and carry on the traditions of the Uchiha together and rebuild what has been tragically destroyed. I believe that it is what's best for both of you."

There was a long silence between them while Sasuke pondered the old man's words. "Or maybe you just like Sharingan users around."

"It's true that Konoha relied heavily on your family's unique skill in the past, but those days are sadly gone, and lessons have been learned from them. Konoha does not simply want you here for your eyes, Sasuke."

"Fine. I'll do as you ask."

"Thank you, Sasuke." Sasuke turned to leave. He didn't think he could stand to stay there any longer. He hated that the old man could see through him, even though he'd been careful. "There is one more thing I feel I should tell you before you go Sasuke." Sasuke stopped and turned back to the old man. "You mentioned Naruto Uzumaki earlier…"

Naruto just could not BELIEVE what he was seeing. There, RIGHT THERE, sitting on the bench he was supposed to meet Sasuke at, was none other than the girl he'd had a crush on since he realized he was able to have a crush on a girl! She hadn't noticed him there. That was good. He hid behind a tree and watched her. She was just staring down at her feet looking sad. He wondered what she was sad about. He thought it was probably because Sasuke wasn't there yet. DAMN IT! HOW COULD SHE JUST LET HIM TREAT HER THE WAY THAT HE DOES AND STILL LIKE HIM? HE'S A BASTARD!

That was what he was thinking before he suddenly realized his own situation. DAMN. After that, he decided that he was mad at her. He wanted to get her back for being such a bitch to him that morning. Hell, every morning! She'd never even once been nice to him! He was such an idiot!

A sly grin appeared on his face. He'd just thought of a plan. He'd just go over there and ask her why she hated him so much. Yeah. But he knew that she would never talk to him. What could he do to get her to want to…

"Hee hee hee…" He rubbed his hands together like a villain, and performed the hand seals for one of his favorite techniques. It had taken him forever to get the damn thing down, but when he did, he mastered it quickly. "Henge." He said it in a hushed voice, so as not to let her catch on to his plan.

"Where the heck is he?" The waiting was getting to her. She was so nervous! She had made up her mind that today was going to be the day the she would kiss Sasuke for the first time. Well, she'd try at least. Then maybe he would realize that they were meant to be together. At first she was excited and determined, but the longer she sat there, the more self conscious she got. '_Why is it that the only thing I've been blessed with is a large forehead? Everything else is below average. ARGH! I hate this! He probably doesn't even think I'm attractive at all. NO! I must complete my mission! I will kiss him today! I will make him fall in love with me!' _She allowed herself to imagine her crush complimenting her on the width of her brow. Then he'd bend down and kiss it. And then he'd…

"Yo." _'This bitch is going down.'_

"Hugh?" _'OH MY GOSH! THERE HE IS! HE'S…SMILING…AT ME! OH MY GOSH! HE'S SO HOT! EEEEEE!'_

"You know, your forehead…it's actually quite charming." _'She's always been embarrassed that people pick on her for her forehead…hee hee hee.'_

Sakura gasped. _'YES! IT'S A FANTASY SITUATION!'_

"It makes me…want to kiss it." Naruto gave her a little wink and smirked. "Yeah right. That's something that Naruto would say." He sat down on the bench next to her. A part of him cheered when she got all disappointed by his comment, the rest of him felt bad though. He wished she'd get excited like that if it was really him that said it. Right. Like that would ever happen. "So, Sakura… What do think about him? Naruto, I mean."

Sakura paused to think. Naruto didn't like the way her face was twisting. "I hate him! He's always butting his nose in my business. It's like he gets off on torturing me! And he's always getting the way! If he had his way, I'd probably never find love or happiness. I don't care about him at all. The only person I really care about…is you, Sasuke." She looked at Naruto/Sasuke.

She looked so pretty right then. How could something so beautiful be so evil and cruel? Naruto wanted to cry! That's what she thought about him? How could she think that? He'd never, EVER, tried to do anything that would make her unhappy! He WANTED her to be happy! He just wanted her to pay attention to him. That's all.

"I just want you notice me…that's all. I want your attention. I'd do anything to get it." She leaned in closer to him and closed her eyes.

Naruto was having a raging clash of emotions in his head. He was mad at her, and she'd just broken his heart into a million pieces and stomped on it. At the same time, there she was, perfect and beautiful, and even though it wasn't really him that she was saying those things to, it WAS him. What should he do?

"Please, Sasuke…" She whispered, "I'm desperate…"

That little whine in her voice did it. There was no fighting the fact that he was a guy and she was throwing herself at him. He HAD to act accordingly. Morals be damned. Naruto lifted his hands and brought them up to caress her face. He lightly brushed the pad of his thumb across her tender lips. She shivered at the touch. He heard her breath quicken. It made him absolutely crazy! It was the most excellent feeling in the world to have so much power over the thing that he desired so. He wanted it to last forever! He leaned in and sampled the texture of her lips just barely. They were slightly sticky. _'What's that shit called? Gloss. That's it.'_ He licked his own lips. It was nice. It tasted like cherries. "Mmm." He leaned in and traced his tongue along the line of her mouth. She gasped slightly. Damn it! Why was she so sexy? He whispered in her ear. "Are you sure you want this Sakura?" He hated the voice that was coming from him. He decided that he probably shouldn't talk anymore.

"Nnnn…Yes…please!"

There was that whine again. He grabbed the back of her head and nudged her forward, then wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her into a tight embrace. The way she allowed him to control her was like no feeling he'd ever had before. His head was swooning. He felt Sakura's fingers trace their way up his back and nest in his hair. _'Oh my god…this is the best.'_ He bent his head down and placed a gentile kiss on her fore head. She smiled slightly. He was done playing around now. It was time to get down to business.

When his lips met hers, Sakura thought she would die. Just die. She expected that kissing Sasuke would be amazing, but she never expected what she got. She assumed that it was his first kiss as well, and he wouldn't know what to do, so how the hell was he able to be so good at it? Then she thought it couldn't possibly be his first kiss. He had to have done this before. Then she got mad because it wasn't his first kiss. Who the hell had he been kissing?

Naruto was mentally applauding himself for being the 'experimental' type. Kage Bunshin was the fucking best. And he'd thought he hadn't accomplished anything during his week off. Ha! He was thanking Mizuki and Konohamaru and the old pervert Ebisu now. They had made all this possible! He even thanked Iruka for failing him on his final exam. For if he wasn't a dead last, drop out, loser, he would not be here, right now, dominating on the bitch that made his heart ache! And she was loving it! Okay, so the whole 'false pretense' thing was bothering him a little, but his steadily heightening arousal was doing its best to squash that little…snag.

Sakura felt him pull back, but his hand guided her to come with him. He turned his body to lean back on the bench. She drew her legs up so she could turn to face him without breaking their kiss. Then she felt his hands slide down her back and grip her ass firmly. "Mm!" She moaned into the kiss.

"Mmmmm." Naruto answered her call with one of his own. He lifted her slightly. He hoped she'd get the idea he was trying to convey. She did. _'YES!'_ She swung one of her legs over to straddle him, but stayed on her knees so their bodies weren't quite touching. Naruto slid his hands around to her thighs and spread them then laid his hands on her hips and gently pushed her down to a sitting position. "Uunnnnnn Sakuraaaa…" He tried not to pay attention to his own horrible voice. It had that whine in it.

Sakura's whole body flushed when she felt him underneath her. For the first time she felt that 'heat' between her thighs. She never expected that her fist kiss would lead to something like this, but this was her dream wasn't it? She wrapped herself around him tightly and ignored the warning light that was flashing in her head saying that she was moving too fast. This was Sasuke! She'd do anything for him.

Naruto was in a state of complete ecstasy. His hands trailed all over, touching every last inch of her body that he could reach, trying to find the best spot they could be. Finally he settled on her chest. She fit perfectly in his small hands. Wait, his hands weren't small. They weren't even his hands. _'AW! No! No! No! No! No! Why? WHY does it have to be like this? Why can't she just like me the way I am? This is horrible!'_ He wanted to stop. He couldn't deal with being such a bastard to her. Even though it was too late, and he'd already been a bastard. Then, he heard something. Someone was there. They were laughing. He'd heard that laugh before. Yesterday…when he had a knife to his throat. '_FUCK! FUCK, FUCK!_' He'd forgotten. He'd forgotten his entire purpose for going to that bench.

TA DA! CLIFF HANGER ENDING!

Man, I'm so tired right now. I hope you guys like this chapter. Hee hee.

It turned out longer than I had planned. I really wasn't planning on it ending here but I absolutely have to do homework now, and I wanted to post this! So here it is.

Stay tuned for "…When They Became Genin…(part 2)" I should have it up in like a week or two…it's finals right now for me after all. I must learn 3ds max! sorry, just pep talking my self. Guess I'll post this now. Oh yeah, um in case you couldn't tell, the shit is about to hit the fan. Poor dumb Sakura.

One last thing…I plan on hopefully continuing this fic at least until the whole "Sasuke leaves the village" part. So plan on seeing me twist all your other favorite characters to my will as well. Yay! I'm so excited! I have something Extra special planned for when I get the part when Naruto trains with Jiraiya for the first time…but it ain't what you're thinking! Heeheehee!


	6. When They Became Genin Part 2

FIRST OFF: Reviewers: snuggles! I do sooo love it when people take the time to encourage me! wink, wink …or even just to tell me that I suck… cringe

And DEMON (reviewer)It's funny you should say that! Hahaha! On a lot of levels! You'll see what I mean…maybe.

Hercat (reviewer) sent me a review pointing out that in "…That Day…" I wrote "…when he could meat his team officially for the first time…" GET IT? MEAT? HAHAHAHA! That is funny to me on a very personal level. Spell check let me down again!

IN OTHER NEWS:

Whilst looking in my Japanese/English dictionary I discovered that if you break down the name Konoha you get: Kono "this" and Ha "leaf / foliage" or "blade / edge of a knife" or "Group / sect / school". I found this cool. I've now passed on the coolness… or not. Whatever.

NOTE! Okay…so I was hasty posting that last chapter…I didn't really reread it to catch mistakes….I noticed some misspellings and some forgotten words (sorry for the lack of quality cries)…also, (and most importantly) that the ending was a little…ummm…not what I planned on it sounding like (((LMAO!))) I just want to clarify that it was Naruto saying "fuck" in his head. Not the person who saw them! The Fuck part is supposed to be italicized, denoting 'thought' (AFF)…. No LEMON here (yet…hee hee). Come on! They are like 12! PERVERTS! (((Personality #2: "Um…but YOU are a pervert.") YOU SHUT UP AND GO TO SLEEP! d(-)b two thumbs up! (pst…did anyone notice that Sasuke **really does **sleep with a kunai instead of a teddy bear? hint- banana. Hee hee.)

DISCLAIMER…or whatever: um, yeah…if I owned Naruto, I would say screw college and just do nothing but Naruto all day long…(snuggles with Naruto)

WARNINGS: Language and violence…with a touch of gore…nothing too naughty...yet. For now it's just 'hints' and 'nudges' with evil grins. Evil grin

Enough of my idiot babbling…on with the friggin' story!

…When They Became Genin… (part 2)

Sasuke was still trying to sort through all the information that the Hokage had just given him. The meeting had not turned out as badly as he'd anticipated. Sure he was going to be stuck living with a guy who he didn't even know, and he'd have to watch how he behaved even more from now on, but he'd put up that front for so long that he thought it probably wouldn't be too hard. And that last bit…wow. That really threw him for a loop. He wasn't really sure how he was going to handle all that. He thought that his life was about to take an interesting turn.

That turn, in fact, came sooner than expected. He was on his way to meet Naruto at the bench. Yeah. Perfectly normal. What he saw when he got there however, well, it was NOT normal at all. It's not everyday that you come across yourself being straddled by the girl you absolutely cannot stand under any circumstances, after all. He stood there shocked for a moment. Who would be so stupid as to do a thing like this? That was a stupid question. He knew exactly who it was, and he didn't even have to ponder the sequence of events that lead up to this little situation. It just fell into place on its own.

He surprised himself, however, when he didn't immediately rush over and beat the living shit out of the Dead Last for using him like that. He waited for a minute. He heard 'Naruto' moaning Sakura's name. How was it that Dead Last knew just how to hit him right in his funny bone? As if he'd EVER call out her name like that! How could Sakura be so fucking stupid? She was supposed to be good at seeing through genjutsu, and look at her! She was eating it right up! He had to laugh. So he did. Hard. Dead Last was going to get his ass kicked sooo bad. It was going to be fun watching that.

Sakura heard someone laugh. It was quiet at first, like it was being stifled. Then full on uproarious laughter. She didn't recognize the voice, but it startled her enough to make her pull away from the delicious mouth that she had been enjoying. She was surprised by the look she was getting from Sasuke. He looked horrified, like he was embarrassed that they'd been caught. She didn't care about people seeing though. She wanted everyone to know! Well, she thought she did. She turned to see who had been watching them and nearly had a heart attack when she saw the owner of that hideous cackle. She spun around again and looked at the Sasuke who she'd been making out with. He looked pissed now. It was his usual expression. She'd never actually heard Sasuke laugh before. She assumed someone was playing a dirty trick. But who?

Naruto had to think of something…and fast! He was in a very terrifying position. He said the first thing that came to his mind. "Fuck off Dead Last! This is private!"

Sasuke laughed even harder at that. He almost couldn't stand it! Naruto had fucking balls to spare! He clutched at his belly and half doubled over with laughter. "This…is…too much! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Something was terribly wrong here. Sakura quickly stood up and fixed her rumpled clothing. "What the hell is this?" She gave a questioning look to the boy she thought was her soul mate. He just sat there, breathing heavily, looking at the other boy who looked like her soul mate, but acted nothing like him. She was forced to ask herself a very difficult question. Which one was more likely? Sasuke approaching her, and pretty much making all of her dreams come true, or Sasuke, the ever silent and unemotional boy, suddenly overcome by his emotions enough to be crippled with laughter. It was a difficult question. She looked at one, then the other. Both seemed real. The Sasuke that she'd just been sitting on even smelled like her Sasuke, the other one though, something about him…

"OH GOD! Dead Last! This is just too funny! Sorry, but I ain't helping you out with this one! You're on your own."

Sakura spun around again to face the person who'd just made her whole body shake with ecstasy a moment ago. He looked defeated. He sighed and stood up. He took her face into his hands and met her eyes. Sakura was too confused to pull away.

"Sakura, look… I know I'm an asshole, but I don't care. That kiss just now… You can go ahead and hate me for the rest my life and it would totally be worth it. That kiss was that fuckin' awesome." The eyes that she'd been staring into suddenly faded from absolute blackness to a shade of blue that she couldn't describe properly.

The whole world seemed to drop out from under her feet. She was too stunned to react at first. She stepped away from the hands that held her and glanced over to the other boy who had now calmed down a bit, but was still grinning like a mad man. She suddenly felt incredibly sick. "Did you set this up?" Her voice was hurt and strained.

"He didn't do this. It was all me." Naruto had decided the least he could do was take it like a man. He owed that much. He was the one who'd acted like a bastard. He didn't want her to hate Sasuke. Sasuke was innocent this time.

Sakura's head fell forward and her hair covered her face. There was pause. A long pause. Sasuke just sat watching, with wide open eyes, waiting for something to happen. Naruto was readying himself for what he knew was coming next. Sakura clenched her fists tightly.

Naruto thought he was prepared for what was coming, but he was not. Sakura pivoted and hit him so hard in the face he was thrown back and knocked off his feet. He hit the ground with a thud and what remained of his illusion vanished into a puff of smoke.

"YOU FILTHY DISCUSTING BEAST! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?" Sakura stormed over to where Naruto lay and kicked him in his face. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" With that she continued to beat him. He didn't even try to fight back. He just lay there and took it. He knew he deserved it after what he'd just done to her, but he prayed that she'd get tired and quit soon because even though he was usually quick to recover, yesterday's 'battle' had really taken it's toll on him. He was getting low on chakra and he was still injured.

Sasuke, after a while of watching the annoying bitch beat Naruto senseless, felt the need to step in. He just had to offer his piece. "Come on Sakura! It's your own fault! You were the one to fall for that stupid Henge! Like I would ever do something like that!" Sakura turned to him and gave him a hurt look.

"Stay out of this Sasuke…cough …this is between me and her…" Naruto was pushing himself back to his feet. "Listen…Sakura," he got cut off when she hit him again, right in his mouth.

"I hate you Naruto! I'll NEVER forgive you for this!" She kicked him in his stomach and he fell over again coughing.

"Give him a break Sakura. I can guess what happened here. You heard me tell him to meet me here and decided to sit here and wait for me, didn't you? You thought he was me so you threw yourself at him, and now you're mad cuz you were stupid enough to fall for his prank. Maybe if you weren't a stalker, none of this would have happened. Serves you right for always being a bitch to him."

"I…told you to…stay out of this, Bastard! I don't need your help!"

Sasuke turned and yelled down at the beaten Naruto. "I'm not helping YOU Dead Last. I'm just making a point." He turned and faced Sakura again. "You know what Sakura? I'm actually glad this happened to you. I'm so fucking tired of your stupid sniveling bullshit. If you knew me at all you would never have fallen for that illusion. What the hell is wrong with you anyway? Why is it that you can't take a hint? I DON'T LIKE YOU! All you ever do is run around with your stupid little friends and talk shit about me. You don't even KNOW me! You know nothing about me! Dead Last, here, knows more about me than you do! Yet you still delude yourself into thinking that by some magical force I will somehow be enchanted by you. Get OVER yourself! And for your information, when that bitch Ino heard me say I like long hair…I WAS TALKING ABOUT MY HAIR!" He brushed his long, silky, black bangs out of his eyes and glared at her.

Sakura was too shocked to even reply. She just stood there, with wide eyes, staring back at the boy who'd just ripped her heart to shreds. She started to tear up. She didn't want to cry. She did not want him to have the satisfaction of seeing that. She was startled when Sasuke was suddenly being punched in the face by Naruto.

"You asshole! Why do always have to be so mean to her? She actually cares about your sorry ass and you just throw it back in her face!"

"What, like she does to YOU every day? You're both fucking stupid! I'm going back to class." He turned to leave but Naruto grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Apologize to her Sasuke." His gaze was firm.

"Why? I'm not sorry. I was just telling the truth." Sasuke was also firm in his resolve.

"She deserves better from you, you bastard!" Naruto was still holding him by his arm, preventing him from leaving.

"I don't need you to defend me Naruto! You dirty monster!" Sakura's choice of words caused Naruto to tighten his grip on Sasuke's arm for a moment. Sasuke noted this.

"Sakura, listen to me." He let go of Sasuke and approached her. "I know that what he just said to you had to hurt really bad, because you pretty much just did the same thing to me just now." He paused, remembering her words when he asked her what she thought of him. "I'm sorry if you felt like I was trying to get in your way. I don't want you to be hurt. He only said those things to you because of me, and I don't want you to hate him for something that I did. I want you to be happy."

Sakura walked over to Naruto and slapped him, he didn't even flinch though. He just stood there and took it again. "You want me to be happy? Then why don't you just go kill yourself! Nobody would miss you anyway! You're just the village idiot! All you ever do is run around and play stupid pranks on people to get attention!" Naruto winced as if Sakura's words had actually cut him. He said nothing in return. He just turned and started to walk away. "I guess I can't blame you for being an idiot delinquent though. Maybe if you had parents to beat some sense into you, you wouldn't be such a loser!"

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY?" Sasuke didn't even realize it, but he'd activated his Sharingan. He advanced towards the pink haired girl, who was now backing away from him. She looked terrified. Sasuke didn't care. "YOU SHALLOW BITCH! BE GLAD THAT YOU EVEN HAVE A FAMILY!"

'_Ugh oh. This is bad.' _Naruto knew that even though that last comment was meant for him, Sasuke had obviously taken offence. "Sasuke!" He turned and rushed back towards them. He grabbed Sasuke from behind before he could reach Sakura and tried his best to restrain him. He hooked his right arm under Sasuke's, and brought his hand up and fisted it in Sasuke's hair, trapping the other boy's arm above his head. He brought his damaged left arm around Sasuke's neck and used it to support his other arm. Sasuke was bent slightly backwards because Naruto was a bit shorter than him. It threw him off balance. Still, he struggled in Naruto's grip.

"S-Sasuke…?" Sakura had never seen him like this before. She'd never seen his Sharingan. She thought he looked like a demon and he was acting very strange. She didn't know what to think.

"SASUKE!" Naruto was using all of his strength to keep Sasuke from attacking Sakura.

"GET THE FUCK OFF ME NARUTO!" Without even thinking, he dug his fingers into the tender area on Naruto's left wrist and tore at it, reopening the wound.

"AAAAH! FUCK!" Naruto released his left arm but still held Sasuke the best he could with his right. He tried to tangle his leg between Sasuke's to trip him.

Sakura saw the blood soak through the bandages on Naruto's arm. She suddenly felt horrible for what she'd said earlier. She didn't know that Sasuke had given him that wound yesterday. She thought Naruto had done it to himself. "Sasuke! Stop it! Please! You're hurting him! What's wrong with you Sasuke?"

Naruto shoved down the pain in his arm, clenched his hand into a fist, and brought it back with all his strength, directly into the spot that he'd seen that bruise on Sasuke's abdomen earlier. Sasuke grunted, his knees buckled, and he went slack. Before he hit the ground, Naruto released his hold on him, and with the lightning speed, brought out a kunai from his pouch.

The pain from the blow was enough to calm Sasuke down a little. He quit struggling. He found himself seated on the ground with Naruto's kunai again taunting the tender flesh just under his jaw line. Sakura stood before them in a daze. She had slumped to her knees and was covering her mouth with her hands. She looked like she was in shock. Sasuke heard Naruto breathe stern, raspy, words into his left ear.

"Save it for later Sasuke. I'm the one who caused this. You can take it out on me. Just calm the fuck down."

His voice sounded the same as did yesterday, when he said his last words before passing out. Sasuke wondered if his eyes looked the same as they did then. Sasuke always recognized eyes. The eyes were always the first thing he noticed about a person. What kind of eyes did they have? It was as if he was always searching them for something, for eyes like his own. His released his Sharingan, closed his eyes, and sat motionless, waiting for Naruto to lower his blade.

"Wow. Look at this! It's your first day as ninja and already you're trying to kill each other!" said a strange voice out of nowhere. "I can tell this is going to be fun." Obito mentally cursed the old Hokage for not telling him that these three particular children hated each other. _'Thanks a lot you conniving old bastard!' _

The three new Genin turned in the direction of the voice. Sakura gasped at what she saw. Sasuke just narrowed his eyes. Naruto, still holding his kunai to Sasuke's throat, lifted his bloody arm and pointed dramatically at the shadowy Nin who was walking casually towards them. "It's YOU!"

"Yeah. It's me." Obito stopped before them and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Hello again, Naruto. You can put that away now. I don't think it's necessary."

Naruto looked down at Sasuke. "Oh…hee hee…yeah." He withdrew his kunai and put it back into his pouch.

"I'm not even going to ask." Obito said, rolling his eyes. He didn't need to ask what Naruto was doing threatening his teammate with a kunai though. He'd been watching the whole scene play out. He would have said he was just 'doing his homework', everyone else would have said he was spying…or peeping. He'd gotten especially good at it during his years spent as a Missing Nin.

"So…why are you here?" This was the second time the guy had shown up during one of his little brawls. Naruto was confused, but happy that he'd got to meet him again.

"He's our Jounin instructor." Sasuke got to his feet, dusted himself off, and stared pointedly at Naruto's bloodied, bandaged arm. It had started to drip, and was forming a puddle on the ground.

Naruto's eyes got large and he smiled. "Really?"

"Yeah. I'll explain myself later though. Right now, you should let me take a look at that arm. It looks pretty bad."

"Hugh? Oh!" Naruto stuck his bandaged arm out to his new instructor, who quickly brought out his own knife to cut away the soiled bandages.

"Sakura, right?" Obito looked over to the little pink haired girl who blushed at his mention of her name. "Come over here. I want you to see this."

Sakura stood and approached her new instructor and the boy who'd just 'violated' her. She was very confused. Sasuke stepped back and allowed her plenty of room to pass him. He looked like his usual self again. What happened to him earlier? She thought it must have had something to do with his eyes. '_He looked like a demon.'_ She stopped next to Obito and looked down at the bleeding gash on Naruto's arm. It looked awful! The scab that was covering it had been ripped away and it was oozing again. Why did he want her to see it? Did he hear what she'd said to Naruto about killing himself? Was he TRYING to make her feel guilty? She did feel guilty. At least, she did until Obito turned Naruto's arm so she could see the back of it. Then she saw that the wound was not a slash, but a puncture. She immediately decided to be pissed at him again.

"A kunai. It entered here and cut right through like butter. It was a clean stab." He turned Naruto's arm back over. "The problem is here." Obito circled his finger around the heavily damaged area on Naruto's wrist. "The blade got caught between the bones. It was twisted repeatedly before being pulled out. The back edge of the kunai made these cuts." He pointed to the individual lacerations that extended from the main gash.

Sakura felt sick. It looked disgusting! How was it that Naruto wasn't screaming in pain? She looked up at him. He looked perfectly calm, like nothing was wrong. He looked over at Sasuke, then yawned and scratched his head. Then he turned and his eyes met hers. She immediately looked away. She shivered. She couldn't look at him. She was still pissed. She turned her attention back to his arm.

Naruto looked over at Sasuke. He noticed that Sasuke looked like he was paying close attention to what their new instructor was telling them. He wondered if he should too. He looked back over at Sakura. He wanted so badly to be pissed at her for saying all those nasty things she said to him earlier, but he found that, looking into her eyes, it was a hard thing to do. She looked away. _'Damn you Sakura.'_

Sasuke watched Obito break down the nature of Naruto's unfortunate injury. He felt horrible for what he'd just done. He ghosted his hand over the rather large bruise that Naruto gave him the previous day and probably made a lot bigger with that last hit he'd given him. _'He got me back for that one. I think he cracked a rib.'_ While doing this he noticed that the tips of his fingers on his left hand were tinted red. '_Naruto's blood.'_ He'd just done that to him without hesitation. He felt a little sick. He wanted to wash his hands.

"When it was pulled out, hmm…" Obito spread the skin back from the gash just a tiny bit and examined the inner damage, "The handle was pulled clean through." He looked up at Naruto and cocked an eyebrow at him. Naruto shrugged. "Okay, Sakura, step around here, I want you to watch this closely." He formed some hand seals and summoned his chakra to his hands. They glowed greenish-blue. "Naruto, hold this arm steady. This will probably feel…strange." He held both of his hands over Naruto's wound and began feeding his chakra into it. "I'm accelerating the growth of the new tissue cells. It's making the wound heal faster. Healing, though, is very unnatural and in most cases, it's best to try to let wounds heal by themselves. See, it requires extensive knowledge of the internal workings of the human body and if done incorrectly, can actually do more harm than good. It's always possible that the healer's chakra could disrupt the natural flow of the wounded, so, especially with someone like me, who isn't trained as a Medical Nin, extreme caution should be used when performing an emergency healing jutsu."

Naruto looked down and saw that the gash was beginning to stitch itself together. The edges of his torn skin looked like they were reaching for each other. It was weird. It was almost like watching grass grow, except, at an unusually fast pace. He was a little enchanted with it. The greenish-blue glow was dancing about in the blacks of his eyes, lulling him. It was mesmerizing. He heard a…tone…in his head. That was the best way he could think to describe it. It was like a chime, but the noise just kept on going. He started to sway. Tiny points of light danced in front of his eyes. He thought he was seeing stars. _"But they're in the wrong place…_" He felt something grab hold of him by his shoulders. The stars began to spread and multiply until they nearly made a sheet of white across his vision. He heard his new instructor's voice. He sounded far away.

"Thanks. Hold him up. This isn't as easy as it I make it look, you know."

Sasuke almost wasn't able to catch him. One second Naruto was fine, the next he was getting ready to fall flat on his back again! '_What the heck did that Obito guy do to him?' _He felt Naruto begin to sag backwards and start to slump down. He maneuvered his body so Naruto's weight was supported by it, but kept his hands on the boy's shoulders. He tilted Naruto slightly to the side so he could see over his shoulder to watch Obito's jutsu at work. A thought struck him. "Sharingan!" It was barely more than a whisper. He didn't think it would be nice to yell it out, since he was so close to Dead Last's ear, after all, regardless of whether or not he could hear it. .

Sakura had instinctively reached up to grab hold of Naruto's arm when it began to go limp. Healing jutsus were careful business after all. She held his arm steady while her new instructor worked. She wondered how old he was. He was very cute!

Naruto started to come back around. He felt weird all over. There was a kind of pressure…and warmth…pressing on his back. He tried to shake his head to regain his bearings, but he felt the skin of his cheek rub against something. He jerked the other way. He felt the warmth leave him. Now there was just the pressure on his shoulders. He turned his head to see what it was he was touching. _'What the…?'_

"Can you stand?" The voice was soft. Very uncommon.

"Y-yeah…I'm okay." He saw that Sasuke was staring intently at something in front of him, and his eyes looked all funny again. He felt Sasuke's hands leave him, allowing him to stand on his own. He looked back down at the wound. All of a sudden he was itching like crazy.

"Naruto! Stop squirming!" Obito gave an angry glance up at his new student and quickly returned to his task.

"Uuuughaaaah! I don't like it! Stop! I don't need you to heal me!" Naruto stomped his feet like a child and wiggled around until the glow faded from Obito's hands. He withdrew his arm quickly, and on reflex, stuck the wounded area in his mouth and sucked on it. He looked at the shadowy Nin with pouty eyes, as if the man had just offended him. "What the heck did you just do me? I almost passed out there for a minute!"

Obito sat back, resting after exerting so much chakra into his jutsu. "That wasn't caused by me, kid. You almost bled to death right there." He chuckled quietly. "Really, that was good. I've never seen anyone so calm facing death before. Nice skill to have." He flashed Naruto a smile and gave him a thumb's up.

Sasuke and Sakura were already sporting weird looks on their faces. It started when Naruto stuck his bloody arm in his mouth and licked it. Those looks changed only slightly when they heard what their instructor told Naruto about him nearly dying from blood loss. It didn't help that Naruto wasn't really reacting at all. He was just standing there, like someone didn't just tell him that he was about to die a moment ago.

Sasuke looked back down at his left hand. The blood was now sticky and crusty, and was caked under his short fingernails._ 'I…almost killed him just now…without hesitation…over…' _He glanced over at the girl who had succeeded in pissing him off to umpteenth degree a moment ago. _'What if…I'd done that to her?'_ He suddenly felt a little sick.

Sakura stared at Naruto. _What the hell is wrong with him? Why the heck would he be so stupid as to attack Sasuke like that? He should know that Sasuke is way stronger than him! But then, he did defend himself pretty well against him, even though he almost died. He could have just died! How can he be co calm about it?_

"I don't think I would have DIED from just this. I've had worse." He bit his tongue after he said it. _'Shit! I can't just go around saying shit like that! Stupid! Stupid!'_ "Ugh, so who are you anyway?" he asked of his new instructor, in an attempt at changing the subject.

"My name's Obito, and like Sasuke pointed out earlier, I'm going to be your Jounin instructor."

Naruto pulled a roll of bandage out of his supply pack and began unconsciously rewrapping his arm while he spoke. "You're and Uchiha too aren't you? Like Sasuke? I mean, that's what I heard."

"Yeah, well, by name. I haven't belonged to that clan for a long time… lucky for me apparently. But we'll talk about all that stuff later." Obito clapped his hands together as he stood up. "Alright then! Since Naruto isn't going to die. Let's go eat lunch!" He thought maybe getting some lunch and having a chance to sit and chat would help to solve the difficult tension that had so suddenly occurred within his new Genin team. He didn't even know why they were looking at him funny.

"Oh yeah! I'm so hungry! I haven't eaten since yesterday morning! I'm starving to death! Obito sensei, please! Can we go get ramen?"

"Oookaay. What about you two?" He turned to his other two students, who had taken seats next to each other on the infamous bench. "What do you want to eat?"

Sakura didn't even want to think about food after having seen that hideous gash on Naruto's arm…and after seeing him licking it clean as if he was some kind of dog…and she'd just KISSED HIM! _'BLAAA!' _

Sasuke couldn't even think about food after what he'd just done. How could he have just let that situation get so out of control? He even attacked Naruto in his weak spot! The one that HE'D given him! It was as if he was subconsciously TRYING to kill him! What would he have done if he'd gotten a hold of Sakura?

"Ramen's fine." They both called out in unison, not wanting to argue or even say anything more.

"Okay! Ramen it is then. I'll introduce myself more while we eat… or after, yeah, after would be better." He looked around at them. They didn't seem to care. Naruto looked as if he would explode if he had to wait any longer, and the other two were in their own little worlds. "Let's go then, shall we?"

"Woo Hoo! Ramen here I come!"

"Hey, is that Ichiraku place still around? I haven't eaten there in YEARS!"

"Of course! It will live on forever in this village! I'll see to personally!"

"Hahaha!" _'It's funny you should say that Naruto.' _"You're a weird kid, you know that?"

"Hee hee." Naruto grinned and led the way. Obito followed him casually. Sasuke and Sakura dragged on behind them, each lost in their own thoughts. They didn't even notice they were walking together. "Oh! Hey, Sasuke! What was it that you wanted earlier? When you said you wanted to ask me something?" Naruto yelled back to the boy who'd told him to meet him at that infamous bench.

Sasuke was shaken from his thoughts by Naruto's voice. He almost didn't register the question. After a moment, he did, and hurried to catch up to Naruto so he could talk to him. "Wait up, Dead Last."

Sakura, upon hearing Sasuke's voice, was lifted from her trance. She hadn't even noticed him next to her. Now he was running away again. _'Hmph! Jerk!' _Her thoughts once again became clouded though, when her eyes returned to their forward position and they met with the absolute splendor that was her new sensei's ass. _'I'm very lucky today! Ino is going to be soo jealous! I got Sasuke on my team, AND my teacher is the sexiest instructor I've ever seen! He's even cuter than Iruka sensei! YAY!' _She glanced ahead of him and saw that Sasuke was actually carrying on a conversation with Naruto. _'That Idiot!' _Something had to be wrong with Sasuke today. Maybe he was sick? He looked like he wasn't feeling well. That had to be it.

"So, what is it that was so important that I had to risk my life to hear it?" Naruto was just joking of course. He wasn't even concerned with the injury anymore. All he wanted was to be relieved of his curiosity and to get an ungodly amount of miso ramen into his belly as soon as possible.

"I'm…sorry. I didn't mean to do that to you. It's just…sometimes…I just… freak out." Naruto looked at Sasuke like he'd just told him he had the plague.

"No! Really? I hadn't even noticed!" He gave Sasuke a goofy smile and continued his pursuit of ramen. Sasuke caught back up with him and jammed his hands in his pockets. Naruto was surprised by the attention Sasuke was suddenly giving him. Sasuke rarely even turned his eyes to Naruto before yesterday, and now it was like he was trying to be buddies with him. It was freaking him out really bad. "Are you feeling okay Sasuke? You're not acting like your usual bastard self. It's freaking me out really bad!"

"Shut up. Dead Last."

"That's more like it!" Naruto grinned and put his hands behind his head. "Well, is that all you wanted?"

"No. I wanted to talk to you about your new technique."

"Kage Bunshin? What about it?

"I want to copy it."

Naruto choked a little. "Excuse me? What?"

Sasuke continued like it was the most natural thing in the world. "My bloodline skill, Sharingan, is also called Copy Wheel Eye, or Mirror Wheel Eye. It copies techniques."

"And WHAT makes you think I'm gunna just let you 'copy' my brand new skill that I had to work my ass off to learn?"

"I let you try your skill out on me, now let me try my new skill out on you. I think you owe it to me."

"No way! You arrogant bastard! That's just asking too much! And I don't owe you shit except a good ass kicking for this bullshit I had to go through today!" He held his freshly re-bandaged arm out to the arrogant prick that was getting out of line with him.

"Fine, I'll just wait until you use it again and I'll copy it then."

"You asshole!" Naruto was surprised by the Bastard's audacity. That in itself was surprising!

"Copying is my skill. I have to use it somehow. Face it, sooner or later that technique is going to be mine, with or without your approval."

Naruto was dumb struck. Sasuke had very valid point. He WAS gracious enough to think to ask before he copied his technique, but still! "Why do want MY skill so bad? If you can copy techniques, why don't you go find somebody else's?"

"Because I like YOUR skill, Dead Last. It was fun yesterday, fighting with them. Since I obviously can't fight like that everyday with YOU, I thought I could just learn to do it myself, thus eliminating the need to have you there at all."

'_He's kissing my ass to fucking steal my Kage Bunshin?'_ "You're a real asshole, you know that? I knew there was a good reason that I hated you. Bastard!" Naruto pouted.

"I'm not trying to be an asshole, Dead Last. I just thought that we could help each other out, that's all. Why do you have to be so difficult about it?"

"How is YOU stealing my technique, helping ME out?"

"You like Sakura right?" Sasuke smirked at him. Naruto didn't like that look at all. It made him look evil. "You know, I could have her whenever I wanted."

"I fucking HATE you!" Naruto jammed his finger at the arrogant bastard's chest.

"It's true though, even AFTER I said all that stuff to her. Not that I want anything to do with her…"

"Why do hate her so much? She really likes you! You should feel lucky! You prick!"

"Oh yeah. Lucky. She doesn't care about me. She just wants bragging rights. She's a horrible, shallow, bitch and you're stupid for liking her."

"Don't talk about her like that in front of me Bastard! I'll kick your ass like I did yesterday!"

"Oh yeah, that worked out real well for you, didn't it." Sasuke glanced down at Naruto's damaged arm and raised an eyebrow, thus succeeding in pissing Naruto off beyond belief.

"Whatever, Bastard. It got me some fucking respect, didn't it?" He was tired of this bitching.

"Hn! Yeah. I guess so." Sasuke wasn't bothered to make an excuse for his sudden change of heart when it came to the village idiot. He did respect him.

"So when do you want to do it?" Naruto folded his arms behind his head and glanced over to Sasuke again.

"What?" He'd forgotten what they were originally talking about.

"When do you want me to show you how to do Kage Bunshin?" Naruto looked annoyed at his new comrade's slow reaction time.

"You decided to show me now?" Sasuke noticed that Dead Last's expression had changed dramatically. He looked like was plotting something.

"On one condition. Since we're a team now, you have to be nice to Sakura from now on."

Sasuke flinched. "Now that's just asking too much!"

"Fine. I'll just never use my technique again," Naruto said smugly. "I'd go THAT far to keep it from you."

"Why do like her so much? She treats you like shit!" He looked at Dead Last like he was stupid. He WAS stupid! _'What the hell is wrong with that guy?' _

"I don't like her for the way she treats me, dumb ass! I like her for the way she treats you. She'd do anything for you. You're lucky."

"You're an idiot."

"So when do you want to do it, Bastard?"

"I don't know. We'll have to see how this meeting goes with Obito. I'll let you know before we break for the day."

"Fine. Oh! Hey! What did the old man Hokage tell you today? He was at the Academy to talk to YOU, wasn't he?"

"Yeah. He says that have to live with Obito now, because he's my relative."

"Geez! You even get to have your own private instructor around whenever you want, and you still want to copy my skill? This just ain't fair!" Naruto whined and sulked.

"He told me something else too, about you."

"About me?" He was done sulking now.

"Yeah. I don't know if I should say anything about it yet though, you should just wait to hear it for yourself."

"You have to tell me! You can't just say something like that and then not tell me! I'll die!"

"I don't think I'm supposed to say anything about it. Hokage Sama just told me because he thought I should know since I'm going to have to live with him."

"Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" Naruto flailed his arms in the air overdramatically.

"FINE! Shut up already! Annoying!" Sasuke stopped Naruto's flailing, and glanced back at their oblivious teacher before he continued giving Dead Last the information he'd gotten earlier from the Hokage. "Hokage Sama told me, that before Obito left the village, he was YOUR legal guardian."

"…"

"Don't say anything about it! He'll probably tell you himself later."

"…What's that mean Sasuke?"

"What?"

"He was my guardian, what does that mean?"

"It means that he was the one who was responsible for your care."

"Oh." Naruto didn't know what to think. Obito was his guardian? How could that be? It was too much for him to grasp all at once. He didn't know how he felt about it. If he was his guardian, then why did he leave him? And why did he decide to show up now? He glanced back at his 'would be' guardian. Obito was locked in conversation with Sakura, oblivious to him and Sasuke. Sakura was giving Obito that look. Naruto didn't like that look at all. He turned back to his new 'would be'…friend? "Man… this is going to be weird."

Sasuke thought back to the day before yesterday, when he's learned of his brother's death. Naruto was there, and he'd shown concern for him. He felt like he should return the gesture. "Yeah. Are you… okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Don't worry about me." They walked in silence the rest of the way to Ichiraku. This was mostly because Naruto was buried in his thoughts, and Sasuke wasn't exactly the best at making small talk. When the smell from the ramen shop hit Naruto's nose however, his whole attitude magically changed. "OH YEAH! It's ramen time!" He sped on ahead, leaving the others to catch up to him at their leisure. By the time they actually got there, Naruto was already on his second bowl, and he was as happy as they'd ever seen him.

OKAY I'M GUNNA POST THIS NOW! SO YOU ALL CAN SEE IT!

OH my gosh! I just watched episode 126 last night! I thought I would pee myself when I saw my sweet little Haku! EEEEEE! I love him so! It sucks so bad that he's dead! (cries) I was planning on skipping over that part of the series in my story, but after seeing his sweet little face again I just HAD to include it! Here is an excerpt that I wrote from the up coming sequel to "If It Went This Way…" tentatively titled "Mission to the Wave." Can you guess which part this is from?

* * *

"What the hell are you still doing out here Dead Last?"

"You don't have to hit me you bastard!"

"Someone had to wake you up! You were just sitting there zoned out!"

"Oh! Was I? Man! The weirdest shit just happened to me just now!"

"The weirdest shit is always happing to you, no matter when it is."

* * *

I know, it ain't much, but I've already written a bit more of it (between working on this chapter and doing assignments, that is) I hope you all will also check that one out too when this is finished. I'm so excited about it! But this one ain't quite done yet. I still got a little ways to go.

Sadly, or not wink… "…When They Became Genin…" is becoming a trilogy or more. hope not! Sigh! It's a long freaking day! I just have to tell the part where Obito tells them about himself! And also when our favorite team is forced to open up to each other and make their secrets and dreams become known to the rest of the group! (here's a hint! Naruto gets 'out-ed', Sasuke a roommate, and Sakura gets a clue! (winkwinkevil grin) It ain't what your thinkin' folks! You are all a bunch of PERVERTS! (((Personality #2: Um…but you are the one who))))) I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP AND GO TO SLEEP! () …zzzzz… (-)v

Now then, I must extend my deepest thanks and luvin' to the following: vix, Demon, lje, cfox, slayerette0, yume, ghostninja85, whoot!v2, silent laugh, kenshinjunkie03, akumariver, Kiri, Anon, mistressofdragons, Yami Jay, Saetan, IntoTheMist, Skuld's Sentaro3, mrasdfghj, Ghonchi, solareclipse117, Song Min Dao, Lady Samurai, Kira-Sama, Kagome300, mrasdfghj, Pale Rider, MommyRogers, and blazer-6.

Please keep reviewing!

You guys make me want to write more and more! Hee hee! I love to entertain! Plus, writing is cheaper than many other types of fun… d(-)b

Come back soon for "…When They Became Genin…(part 3)" Hopefully within the next week or so! can't wait for the end of this friggin' quarter!


	7. When They Became Genin Part 3

SPOILERS: OMFG! I just now realized that the people who don't read the manga probably don't even know who Obito is yet! If there are any of you who have read this and don't know that Obito was Kakashi's teammate who died, well, sorry…but it's your own fault for not reading ahead! KUKUKUKU! Plus, Obito has been mentioned before in the anime, in the episode where they have the funeral for The Third. Anyway, just thought I should mention that.

NOTE: Okay, things start to get…weird…exactly HERE. I had to do some pretty imaginative thinking, and I hope it's not too confusing, so just keep reading and all will be revealed in time. Also, my apologies, but this part is just packed with memories and flashbacks…it's the only way I could think to describe Obito and his motives as well as the teams feelings about each other. As always, things may not actually be as they appear. So have fun! And don't get too pissed at me, I had to cut this chapter in half…again…it's too frigging long!

This promises to be a very exciting chapter indeed! I'm just tickled pink that it happens to be the SEVENTH chapter and it's the first chapter that deals fully with Team Seven (AHEM Team _Obito_) as a whole! I didn't even plan it that way! (O-O)

IN OTHER NEWS: I've seen the word Akatsuki translated as the following: Aka red, and Tsuki moon, but I found that the actual translation of the entire word 'Akatsuki' is this: Daybreak/Beginning; _or _Ending. Soooo, would that be the reason that shadowy organization calls themselves by that name? The Beginning and the End? Like Alpha and Omega? Do they have a 'god' complex? I just thought it was interesting…._sigh_

DISCLAIMER…or whatever: um, yeah…if I owned Naruto, I would say Screw College and just do nothing but Naruto all day long… (picks nose and dreams of money)

WARNINGS: Language and violence …nothing too naughty...yet. For now it's just 'hints' and 'nudges' with evil grins. Evil grin I think I'm gunna have to throw an OC warning in here too…just in case. Don't worry, I try very hard to be tasteful. If not, you can always bitch about it. But I would cry…hee hee hee.

We will begin at the point where the four left the bench, except this time, it's from Sakura and Obito's point of view… I hope this chapter isn't too confusing…it's giving ME brain bubbles.

Enough of my idiot babbling…on with the friggin' story!

"So did you understand what I was talking about back there?" Obito glanced back to the small, pink haired girl that was lagging behind him. He stopped walking and waited for her to catch up.

Sakura flinched and looked up at her new teacher. She hoped he hadn't noticed her checking out his ass! "Ugh…What?"

"The jutsu, did you understand what I was saying?"

"OH! Well, I guess, a little of it. I don't really know much about healing jutsus. I've only read a little bit about them, but I do know that they are difficult to do."

"Do you find them difficult?"

"Well, I've never tried one! Only read about them, remember?"

"Yeah, but from what you've seen, do you find them difficult?"

"Well, not really, I mean, I can see where other people might have trouble with them."

"That's good."

"Why do you say that sensei?"

"Because I was thinking of teaching you that skill."

"Me? Why?"

"Because I was told you have excellent chakra control, the best in your class."

Sakura blushed. She'd never really gotten much positive attention for being the smartest girl in the class before. They all would just pick on her about it and tell her she had a wide forehead. "Sasuke is the top of the class. I'm sure he's probably has better chakra control than me."

"I doubt that. Have you ever noticed that sometimes when you hit, it's harder than you expected?"

Sakura thought back to that morning, when she hit Naruto on the back of his head. She really didn't mean to hit him that hard! "Well, sometimes, I guess."

"That's because when you hit, you are occasionally able to use chakra to heighten the force of the blow. You seem to be doing it unconsciously though. But don't get me wrong, that's a good thing! Most people would have to train themselves for a very long time just to be able to do that with a lot of effort."

"How do you know all this?"

"Well for one thing, I was watching when you were beating the shit out of Naruto. I'm curious though, I was told that you were also good at genjutsu type skills."

Sakura's face practically glowed red, and a vain started to form on her forehead. "Naruto…." She grumbled. _'That disgusting pervert! How could he just…steal my first kiss like that! YUCK! I'll make him pay for that I swear! Stupid, filthy, creep! He's ruined everything! Again!' _"That little creep!"

"What threw you off? Why do you think you fell for that jutsu?"

She hated to admit it, but… "He's good at that technique! I was totally fooled by it. He even smelled like Sasuke!"

"…You know what he smells like?" Obito was confused. Did he ever behave that way when he was younger? NO! He was too busy trying not to get killed! _'It must be a girl thing,' _he thought.

"Of course I do! How could I not? I try to get as close to him as possible, whenever I can! He smells like peppermint! …and something else…hmmm…" Sakura racked her brain to put a name on the other elusive scent that always seemed to hover in the air whenever Sasuke Uchiha was near. She couldn't. "And his shampoo! He even smelled like that too! How the heck did he manage that?"

"Hahahaha! I see. Your eyes don't see through it."

"What?"

"You figure out the illusion based on logic. That's why you were able to be fooled by it. It makes total sense now."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Naruto was at Sasuke's house."

"What?"

"Yesterday, I was following him. He was at Sasuke's house. He probably took a shower there too. Hahaha! That would explain the shampoo!"

"Logic." Sakura grumbled to herself. She'd never even considered that option. How was that possible! "Sasuke and Naruto hate each other! Look!" She pointed ahead of them to her male teammates. Naruto was poking Sasuke in the chest, and Sasuke had that arrogant smirk on his face. It was OBVIOUS they were about to start brawling in the street pretty soon. "What the heck would he be doing at his house?"

"Haha…they got into it yesterday. Sasuke was the one who did that to Naruto's arm. He took Naruto to his house to tend to the wound."

Sakura was shocked. "Sasuke did that to him?"

"Yep. That's how I knew exactly how to explain the injury. I saw it happen. Well, I was far away, I didn't see it up close, but I did see him get stabbed."

"You saw that…and you didn't heal him THEN?"

"Nah. I wanted to give Sasuke a chance. I wanted to see how he'd handle the situation. You know, he's kind of…um…he's…"

"Yeah. I noticed."

"So why do you like him so much? He doesn't seem to be particularly fond of you."

Obito's bluntness stung Sakura for a moment. She wasn't stupid like Naruto was! She knew all that stuff! "Well, see, I like him because, I don't know…" She looked down at her feet and scrutinized her feelings for the unpleasant Uchiha. Her thoughts drifted back to the first time she'd encountered him. Ino was showing her off to all of her friends.

_"Hey guys! This is Sakura!"_

_"Um... Nice to meet you."_

_Sakura wasn't exactly sure how to respond to all the attention she was getting that day, but she was glad that she'd become friends with Ino. Ino was so outgoing, and she was very popular too! Sakura wanted everyone to like her as much as they liked Ino. She let herself be led around all day, meeting all of Ino's friends._

_"…And over there, that's Yoshi. He's supposed to be really good at ninjutsu," Ino lowered her voice and spoke softly into Sakura's ear, "But I'VE never seen him do anything cool."_

_Sakura giggled. "Ino, that's not nice." _

_"Who ever said I was nice?" Ino gave her friend a sly grin, but before she could say anything else, her eyes got large and her grin turned to a smile of pure delight! "Sasukeee!" Ino grabbed her new friend by the hand and practically dragged her over towards the boy who had just come into view. He was walking with a few of his friends. _

_Sakura noticed that when the boy saw Ino, his face shifted quickly from one of casual speaking, to one of horror for a split second, then settled on one of what seemed like forced pleasantness. _

_"Oi! Ino. How are you? ACK!" To Sakura, it looked like Ino was trying to squeeze the life out of him!_

_"SaSuKE! I've been looking for you all day!" Ino removed herself from his person and stood aside, allowing the boy to get a good look at her new companion. "SasuKEEE…Thiiiiiis is SaKuRa! Isn't she just the CUTEST?" _

_"Umm…" He looked at the other girl for a minute._

_Sakura thought she would die of embarrassment! She could just tell that she was blushing like crazy. Why did Ino have to embarrass her so bad in front of THE cutest boy in the Ninja Academy?_

_"Sasuke is THE most popular boy in our class Sakura. So you should be nice to him!"_

_"Ino…" Sasuke looked embarrassed FOR Sakura. He had amused smile on his face. It was a nice smile._

_"Um…Hi…" Sakura wanted to curl up into a ball and die._

_"Hey." He didn't look disgusted…that was a good thing! "Sakura. Nice to meet you." He held out his hand to the fumbling ball of nerves, that was Sakura._

_Sakura took the boys hand and shook it gently. "It's…nice to meet you too…" Right as she finished speaking, one of the boys that Sasuke had been walking with called out to him. He turned to acknowledge the voice, but he was still holding her hand._

_"Sasuke! Come on already! I thought you wanted to go practice with shuriken!"_

_"Yeah! Wait up! I'll be right there!" He turned back to Sakura. "Well, I guess I'll see you around then." He gave her a little smirk and let go of her hand. Sakura thought she felt his finger rub gently against her hand as he slipped away from her. "Bye Ino." With that, he turned and ran towards his friends that had gone on ahead of him._

_Sakura shook her head and sighed. "IIINOOO! Why'd you have to go and SAY that?"_

_"Sasuke is an Uchiha, Sakura! The Uchiha are the strongest clan in the village. Sasuke comes from a VERY important family! But he's very nice! He's not all stuck up like some of the other kids. And isn't he just the CUTEST?"_

_Later that day, while Sakura was in the woods picking flowers for an arrangement that was due in class the next day, she happened upon him again…rather, HE happened upon her. Out of nowhere, a shuriken buzzed passed her face, clipping off a lock of her hair. As she jerked to avoid it, she let out a shriek. 'Where the heck did that come from?' She sat there panting. Her heart was beating hard against her ribcage. _

_"Oi! Hey! Are you okay over there! I'm SO sorry!" She heard footsteps quickly approaching her. _

_She was still clutching her chest when she looked up to see who the voice belonged to. Her expression didn't change. She was still in shock. 'It's HIM!'_

_"Hey!…Oh! Sakura…" His face suddenly changed from concerned to a friendly smile. Sakura wanted to melt immediately. "Did I scare you? I'm sorry…look, I didn't mean to almost kill you…I just…kind of suck at shuriken throwing…well, I mean, I can throw ONE just fine, but when I try aiming with multiples…well…I suck. Really! I'm sooo sorry." A slight pink tint stained his pale cheeks. He was chuckling faintly to himself. Sakura thought she had never seen anyone who was so beautiful. He had achieved 'godlike' status in her young eyes. _

_"It's…okay…" Suddenly feeling quite bashful, Sakura examined the ground, so as not to embarrass herself further by staring. That's when she noticed the lock of hair he'd accidentally cut off. "My hair!"_

_Sasuke looked down at the strands of pink hair that had sprinkled the ground near where they sat. He looked back up at the girl and cringed. "NO! Ugh… Look! It's cool!" He smiled again and pinched at a bit of the severed hair, brought it up over Sakura's head, and blew it into the air. "See? Just like sakura!" Sakura stared blankly in front of her, watching the tiny hairs flutter gracefully to the ground again. When she focused, her eyes found the boy sitting in front of her. He was smiling contently. She saw his eyes moving to follow the strands as they fell around her. _

_"Um…what?" She was at a loss for words._

_"Your hair, it's pretty and falls about your face…like cherry blossoms, Sakura." He leaned forward, brushed a strand of her hair off her face, and tucked it carefully behind her ear. "Hn." He smirked at her. "There. It's perfect." That was about the moment she fell in love. He was perfect. She thought she was seeing stars. _

_Her bliss was cut short though, when a voice called out from the tree line. "Sasuke, if you're done flirting with that girl, I wonder if I could speak to you for a moment?" The boy flinched and jerked his hand away as he spun around at the voice. _

_"Sh—Shisui? What?" Sasuke looked startled, as if something was wrong._

_"Come on, I'll show you some shuriken tricks."_

_"Ugh...okay…hang on a sec…" He turned back to Sakura, still blushing slightly. He smiled sweetly and scratched at the back of his head. "Well, I guess since you're okay…I'll see you later…Sakura." With that, he stood and hurried to follow the older boy that had interrupted them. She never even got to say goodbye._

_Sakura didn't see him for a while after that. When she did, he'd…changed… _

"He's just, always so sad! Everyone likes Sasuke, but Sasuke doesn't ever want to be around other people. I think I just want to see him happy…like he used to be. But no matter what I do, he pushes me away. I guess I should just give up on him." The last statement came out with a long disappointed sigh. "He hates me anyway."

Obito smiled down at the small, pouting girl. "Aww, come on now. He's just a little…weird…that's all. I'm sure he doesn't REALLY hate you. Anyway, it's good that he has someone that cares so much for him. He probably needs that more than he'll ever admit. Don't give up on him yet." He put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her close to him for a moment before letting her go. He was trying to cheer her up. It worked. A LOT!

Sakura blushed hard. He touched her! He was so hot! He seemed like he was really cool too! She was sooo happy that he was her new instructor! Obito had continued to talk to her but she couldn't really say that she was paying attention. She glanced ahead to her two male counterparts. It looked like Sasuke was whispering something to Naruto. Naruto glanced over his shoulder at her. She quickly turned and nodded attentively to their new instructor. _'Naruto looked strange just now… THAT JERK!' _

Lunch was ALMOST a quiet, and awkward affair. Save for Naruto and Obito's slurping, and Naruto occasionally asking for a refill, none of them said a word. Sasuke sat next to Naruto on one side, Obito sat on the other, with Sakura next to him.

Naruto sat slurping his noodles, perfectly content. Well, except for the fact that he was currently in the middle of THE absolute WEIRDEST day he ever experienced and he was having trouble coming to terms with it. His mind swirled in every direction at once. He was a ninja today. He kissed Sakura today! He got his ass kicked by her today as well. He'd nearly been killed by the guy he was supposed to hate above all others, and he'd also sort of, become friends with him in the process. Sort of. He met some strange guy who showed up out of nowhere, toting a severed head, and he'd just learned, from the guy he was supposed to hate, that the guy with the head was his supposed to be his guardian and he was also his new teacher too. What the hell did that mean anyway? And that wasn't even the half of it! Too much information! _SLUUUUURP!_

Sasuke was glad that Sakura was as far away from him as possible. God he hated her! She just got on his nerves in a way that nobody else ever could. He'd never once shown any interest in her, so why did she continue to relentlessly pursue him? He glanced over at her. She wasn't even eating. She just sat there absently poking her chopsticks at her ever fattening noodles with a dreamy look on her face. He hadn't even noticed that he was doing something similar, except, the look on his face was one of boredom and annoyance.

Sakura had taken the seat next to her teacher to avoid sitting next to the two boys who she was currently pondering killing in their sleep. _'Damn it all! Naruto's stupidness is rubbing off Sasuke now! What the HELL!' _Those annoying thoughts though, were pushed neatly away and tucked into the deep recesses of her mind so she could enjoy the nice view of her new instructor's profile. She suddenly found herself deconstructing the seemingly perfect architecture of his features. His skin, though pale, was flawless, save for a couple of tiny, black, beauty marks that would almost certainly go unnoticed with less inspection. The one just below his right ear, on his neck, caught her attention for some reason. He wore two silver spikes through his ear, one above the other. They were about the half the diameter of a pencil, and were held on by rubber rings on the front and back. His jet black hair looked thick and ruff. It stuck out in semi-long, windblown spikes that were pushed off his face by a pair of round, black, goggles. The goggles were small. They looked like they would only just fit over his eyes. Those eyes, Sakura thought, were like beautiful black holes that could draw anything in with their gravity and hold them forever. She ached to stare into them full on. They were lined by a row of long, slightly curled, black lashes that would gently brush his skin when he blinked. Her gaze trailed down to his mouth. She was spellbound by the way his perfect, pink, lips puckered just a tiny bit when he sucked in another tangle of noodles. _'MMM! Yummy! Do ALL Uchiha's look this good?_' That was a stupid question.

Obito's mood had taken a slight downturn upon entering the Ichiraku Ramen shop. He didn't expect the nostalgia to hit him as hard as it was. He normally would have been filling his student's ears with pointless chatter, but for some reason, the chatter was manifesting itself inwardly, in the form of powerful, saddening memories. They were jumbled and scattered and they swirled around in his head, dredging up old times.

_

* * *

_

_"Thinking about heavy thoughts?"_

_"Sensei?"_

_"We've been waiting for you to show up for a while now. I thought I'd better come find you."_

* * *

"_Obito! You were supposed to be back here two days ago! Where have you been?" _

"_I got caught up! Sorry."_

"_I had to assign your mission to someone else AND THEY FAILED IT! It makes ME look incompetent! You owe me BIG TIME for this!"_

_

* * *

_

_"Obito, I think I…made a terrible mistake…please…we have to hurry…I don't have much time left…"_

_

* * *

_

_"You'll find your 'client' at the Ichiraku Ramen shop."_

_"Yeah? How will I know her?"_

_"She has a large round belly."_

_"I thought you said she was pretty! I don't care how much you think I OWE you! I am NOT wasting my time lugging shit around for some fat cow, when I could be doing an IMPORTANT mission! I'm a Jounin now! Not a fucking Genin!"_

_"This mission IS important OBITO! And she is VERY pretty… if I do say so myself."_

* * *

_"So I guess you're my little ninja 'helper'. Hang on a minute. Hey old man! I'm leaving now! Come on kid. Let's get this over with, so you can get back to your wonderful, adventurous life."_

_"What's that supposed to mean, lady?"_

_"Hegh…nothing. I'm just bored to death. This staying in one place crap is starting to get to me. And having to do menial labor to earn money? Oh my god. It's too much."_

_"Okaaaay…So, where are you from?"_

_"Ha! I'm from everywhere! I actually just came here from Sunagakure, but that ain't my 'home' or anything."_

_"So where are you from originally?"_

_"What, me? Or are you wondering about my clan?"_

_"…Both…I guess."_

_"Haha! Yer funny kid. Fine. I THINK the place I was born in was…I think it was in Kirigakure. I can't say for sure though, since I was an infant and all. I grew up mostly just wandering around. As far as my CLAN is concerned, well, I'm told that we originated in the area that is now called Wave. Though, back when this happened, well, I don't really know if there is a recorded timeline of it, but I think the guy said it was a couple thousand years ago. Since then, we've all just kind of spread out, all over the continent. So, yeah…Does that answer your question?"_

_"Um…yeah. It does... I guess… So what's your rank?"_

_"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"_

_"Your rank. What level are you at? You keep mentioning all these hidden villages, and it makes me wonder what your rank is."_

_"Ooooh! Hegh hegh! I get it! You assume I'm a ninja. I'm not. I have no affiliation with any one nation. I roam amongst them freely, like I said before."_

_"…How?"_

_"What are you stupid? You don't think that a being can just roam free without ties?"_

_"That's not what I said at all! …And you look pretty tied to me!"_

_"What? This? Yeah well, that was before. Now I'm here. And I really can't go anywhere, so let's just stop talking about this! It's making me want pull up stakes and run away!" _

_"If you hate it here so much, then why did you come here?_

_"Because I fell in love. Well, it doesn't help that I can't even use my chakra. As you can see, I'm in a rather fragile state right now." _

_"Sooo, who's kid is it anyway?"_

_"I don't see how it's your business who my kid's daddy is."_

_"Sorry, didn't mean to offend."_

_"Don't worry about it. I'm not married. If you ever call my kid a bastard though, I'll be sure to cut you up into little tiny pieces and feed you to the vultures in Suna."_

_"OOOOKAAY! Look we're almost there. I guess you get to pick out whatever you like. I'll be hauling it back to your place for you. Then I'll just go about my business and get back to my wonderful, adventurous, life." _

_"Right." _

* * *

_"You dropped you're knife."_

_"No I didn't. I threw it at you. That was a nice dodge kid. Not bad."_

_"Why do you keep calling me 'kid'? You look younger than I am!"_

_"Wow. Thanks, I guess."_

_"Why did you throw this at me!"_

_"Because I wanted to see how good you were, that's all. I was bored, and I happened upon you here, so, that's why I threw it at you."_

_"Why are you here?"_

_"BECAUSE I'M BORED!"_

_"And you want ME to entertain you."_

_"Yeah sure, why not?"_

_"Who the hell are you?"_

_"Just a stuck traveler with nothing to do. Why don't you show me your skills? Or are you afraid to show them off?"_

_"Alright. Fine."_

_"Now we're talkin'!"_

* * *

"_So, um, I'm curious…You keep mentioning all these hidden villages, um…how is it that you aren't a ninja again?"_

"_I don't need any other skill than the ones I already have. It would be unnecessary for me to learn more."_

"_What's that supposed to mean?"_

"_Just what I said. I'm content with what I have."_

"_Why is it that you can't use your chakra? I wanna see what you've got, for myself."_

"_It's the baby. It eats it all up. Don't tell anyone that I said that though. If you do, I'll cut your tongue out and make you swallow it."_

"_Damn! Chill out!"_

"_I'm serious. Never speak to anyone about the things that you and I talk about. I'm only telling you these things because I like you, and you ask, but I won't hesitate to END you if I feel even the least bit threatened."_

"_Why would you even feel threatened in the first place?"_

"_Kid, you have no idea."_

* * *

"_So why do you hate staying in one place so much anyway?"_

"_It's just something I've always done. I don't really like to have too many ties. What do you think when I tell you my clan is spred out all over? We're wanderers. Nomads. We only know each other by our symbol. That's how we tell each other from the masses. The descendants from the main family wear this mark on their back, but the rest of them, if they want themselves to recognized, will wear it somewhere else. It's a basic communication method. That's why I tend to frequent the hidden villages. Many from my clan are allied to various ninja affiliations. It's easier for me to find friendly hospitality among my own." _

"_Hn."_

"_Did I say something wrong?"_

"_I was just thinking about how people can be so hypocritical sometimes."_

"_Are you referring to ME?"_

"_No. MY clan."_

"_Why's that?"_

"_It's just all the bullshit that my father used to bore into my head. 'All, Uchiha are family, Obito…Know their faces and be kind to them and they will do the same for you.' It's kind of like what you were just talking about, but in THIS case it's horribly untrue. My clan hates me. The only reason they haven't rid themselves of me yet is because my sensei is Yondaime. He's the only thing keeping me from being assassinated."_

"_That sucks for you, kid. What did you do to them?" _

"_Nothing. I acquired a 'forbidden' skill…by accident."_

"_How's that happen?"_

"_I'd rather not talk about it, thanks."_

"_Alright. Fine. Be that way. See if I care."_

"_I wish I could just leave. Wander around."_

"_Why don't you?"_

"_Because I would become a Missing Nin. You know, ties."_

"_So, even your parents hate you?"_

"_I don't have parents."_

"_I see. Well, at least you had parents."_

"_What about you?"_

"_I've always been alone."_

"_Always? Even when you were little?"_

"_Yup. Most of the time anyway. There was a guy for a while. I followed him around and talked to him. That's how I found out about my clan. We both had the same symbol. He asked me where I got it from. I spent a few years with him. That was when I was little though. Since then I just kind of kept to myself. I have my own ways. It's easier if I don't have to answer to anybody."_

"_So, what do you do? Besides wander around that is?"_

"_I'm an assassin."_

"…"

* * *

"_Look, kid…I don't think I'm gunna be around much longer."_

"_What? Why?"_

"_Once this baby gets here, I'm gone. I just wanted to let you know that if you ever decide to start wandering…take this. If you see a place that bears that mark, show it to them, and tell them you got it from me. Tell them I consider you my family. It'll all work out for you. Got it?"_

"_But…why?"_

"_I told you, I like you. You're entertaining."_

"_Where…where will you go…from here?"_

"_Not too far. But no one will be able to reach me. Don't look so sad! Perhaps we'll meet again someday. Remember though, what I said about keeping things to your self. I meant it."_

"_I won't say anything. Don't worry…but I still don't even know what the big secret is."_

"_You mean you haven't figured it out? Now I'd rather not tell you. This is strange."_

"_You'd really just leave and not let me in on the mystery?"_

"_I've already told you way more than I've ever spoken or implied to anyone else. Most people, I thought, would get the idea by now."_

"_Stop with the cryptic shit and just tell me!"_

"_I've got a fun idea. I challenge you. If you really want to know about me that bad, go out and look. See what you find. Use that. If you ever solve your 'mystery' come and find me. We'll talk again. How would that be?"_

"_Are you serious?"_

"_Very. Try to hunt me down. That is your task. If you fulfill it, I'm the prize."_

"_I still don't really understand what you mean though."_

"_What, you don't want to see me again?"_

"_I do!"_

"_Then do as I ask."_

"…"

"_I guess this is goodbye for now, Obito."_

* * *

_"Well…I guess this is goodbye for now, kid. Take care of yourself…Naruto…"_

* * *

Obito glanced up from his bowl to the old man that was currently preparing another bowl of noodles, and then turned his gaze to the small blonde that was sitting next to him, stuffing his face. He felt a tiny pang of guilt set in. He turned back to his meal and continued slurping it up with practiced precision.

"It's been a long time since I've seen your face around here, Obito. I heard that you'd retuned. It would seem that you are the talk of the village right now." The old man was smiling cheerfully at Obito while pouring the freshly cooked noodles into Naruto's bowl.

"I'm pretty sure everyone's heard about it by now. It's pathetic really. I hadn't planned on making such a 'stunning' entrance." He glanced back up and gave the old man a look that showed his annoyance at the whole situation.

"I hope you have a lot of money on you." The old man motioned to the stack of bowls that was steadily increasing in height in front of his most reliable customer.

Obito had been too lost in his thoughts to notice that the kid had consumed an ungodly amount of ramen in the short time they'd been there. He'd never seen a kid eat like that! "Naruto! You're going to get sick from all that!"

"Che! I never get sick. Especially not from RAMEN! Ramen is my life blood! And free is something that don't come around too often."

"Free?" Obito was curious.

"Yup!" Naruto grinned happily at his new teacher. "It was your idea for us to have lunch, so it's your treat. Besides, I'm broke anyway. Welfare money only stretches so far you know. Konoha is stingy with war orphans. Plus, I figure you owe me. Since," he paused briefly for effect, "You knoooow…" He made sad, pouty eyes at Obito, and stuck out his bottom lip, but grinned evilly to himself. He knew that his well placed whine would hit its mark, dead center.

Defeated, Obito slammed a wad of money on the counter and stood up. "Alright you guys. Let's go. We got a lot of stuff to do today." With that, the four exited the shop and headed to a quiet place to talk amongst themselves. Obito lead them to a small bridge that crossed the stream that ran through that part of town. He hopped up onto the railing and crouched down. His hands gripped the rail in between his feet. "All right. I guess it's time we have that little 'informational talk' thing. I guess I'll go first. Like I said before, my name's Obito Uchiha and I'll be your Jounin instructor. I just want to make it clear, however, that I'm being blackmailed into this gig and I have no intention whatsoever of fucking around with you. So here's the deal, Two days ago I snuck into this village toting the head of what I thought was my last precious relative. I took it to your honorable Hokage to collect the bounty on it, and he proceeded to threaten me with imprisonment if I did not comply with his demands. You can guess what his demands were. So here I am, standing before you, stripped of my rank and trapped in this village. The only thing that I have to do to occupy myself is to turn you three bumbling idiot children, into full on ninja killing machines. I'd prefer it if you made my job just a tad easier by AT LEAST trying to get along. At the VERY least, put forth a little effort to be civil with one another…especially in public. Naruto, Sasuke, that means you. No more knife play when you are among civilized people."

"Hey what about her?" Naruto pointed over to Sakura with a confounded look on his face. "She totally beat the shit out me back there!"

"You deserved that, and you know it." Obito had no intention of coddling the boy.

"HMPH!" Naruto huffed and folded his arms across his chest.

Obito continued. "You are Ninja now, and you belong to me for the immediate future. It is my job to teach you all the skills that you will need to function properly as individuals, and as a team, emphasis on the word 'team'. You are responsible for each other's lives from now on and I am responsible for yours, so don't fuck up and make me look bad."

"Got it boss!" Naruto was sporting a 'smart ass' grin on his face.

"Shut up. I wasn't done talking." Obito chuckled down at the boy from his perch. "Now look, here's how its gunna go. We'll go down the line, and you'll each respond to the following questions: 'Who are you?' 'What's your situation?' and 'Why the hell are you here?' Got it?"

"I have a question." This was the first time Sasuke had spoken since he told Dead Last about Obito being his guardian. No one could have expected what he was curious about.

"What's that?" Obito turned his eyes to the quiet boy.

"When you killed my brother, was it fast, or did you do it slow?"

"WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IS THAT?" Naruto thought his new 'kind of' friend's question, was inappropriate to discuss so soon after that big lunch.

"Shut up Dead Last!" He turned back to Obito. "Really, I want to know."

"Hn! You're funny kid! If you really want to know THAT BAD, I'll tell you. No…Maybe it would be better if I showed you." Obito leapt from his perch and landed directly in front of his young relative. Sasuke flinched, but when he got his focus again, his eyes met with Obito's, and he saw something that froze him with terror.

To Naruto and Sakura, it happened in a second. They didn't even have time to react to what was happening.

Sasuke gripped his hands on the rail tightly, as if bracing himself for pain. Reality spun. He felt as if he was going too fast, but time was in slow motion. He saw a bowl of ramen sitting in front of him. Although he was in a crowded restaurant, he distinctly heard two particular voices.

(((((((((((("That one. There. That's the one they say calls himself a demon.))))))))))))

(((((((((((("Is that so? Hn! I recognize him. Wait here for me. This promises to be fun."))))))))))) Sasuke heard the sound of footsteps approaching. "Excuse me sir, you look familiar. Have we met before?"

"I believe we have." Sasuke heard what he thought was a twisted version of his own voice.

"Really, my memory is poor. Forgive me."

"You were very young then, I wouldn't expect you to remember it." Sasuke felt his lips curve into a smile.

"So it seems I've forgotten one."

"What is it that you want?"

"To finish what I started. Also, I believe that you might have something that I want."

"Is that so?"

"It is."

"So what is it, exactly, that you assume I have?"

"I'm looking for a demon."

"I think you've got plenty. Actually, I'm glad you conveniently showed yourself to me. I'm very fortunate today. The bounty on your pretty little head is quite large. If you'd like to continue this though, I suggest we go someplace a little more 'personal', if you take my meaning. "

"Very well then."

Reality snapped back to normal in an instant. Sasuke's mind recoiled from the sudden shift. He half choked and fell to his knees. A loud tone rang in his ears and his vision spun slightly, as if he'd been running in circles. He panted frantically trying to catch his breath. He knew the after effect of that jutsu by heart, but he still hadn't fully recognized what had been done to him yet. Before he fully regained his senses, he felt two hands grab him and pull him to his feet. He felt the rail of the bridge on his back, the hands held his arms firmly at his sides. A voice breathed soft, stern, words into his ear.

"I'll just go ahead and say this right now. If I ever think that you'll become a problem for this village, your brother's death will be the last thing you see before you die. Understand?" As he said it, Obito felt a little disgusted with himself. He thought he sounded just like the rest of his godforsaken clan…but what other choice did he have? He had to make that point clear. From what he'd seen, the kid had very dangerous potential, just like the Hokage said.

"Y-yeah…I get it." Sasuke closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. His heart was still racing in his chest. The restraining hands left him, and he was left to stand by himself. He used the rail as a crutch and looked up to see that his instructor was again perched on the opposite rail.

"Moving on then! Sakura, why don't we start with you? What's your deal?" Obito turned his eyes to the little pink haired girl.

"Umm…" Sakura glanced over at Naruto, who was standing next to her. He held out his hand to try to steady the wavering Uchiha boy, but Sasuke quickly jerked his arm away and gave him a dirty look. Uneasily, Sakura turned back to her instructor. "I don't really know what to say…" She looked pretty uncomfortable. She didn't want Obito to do whatever he did to Sasuke, to HER if she said something wrong.

"Haha! Don't look so nervous! This is just an exercise in getting to know each other. Just tell us about yourself. The stuff you like, what you don't like, what your dreams are, why you want to be a ninja…stuff like that. Okay?"

"Well, I like…um…" She blushed. "I HATE NARUTO!" She turned to him. He looked crushed. "YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO ME YOU DISGUSTING PERVERT!"

"Hey now! Calm down! Remember? We're in public. Be civil. Just skip to where you tell us about why you want to be a ninja."

"I guess I want to be a ninja because the concepts of chakra manipulation are easy for me to understand. There aren't really that many ninja in my family, so my parents are excited that I have this opportunity. I don't really know what I want to specialize in yet, because really, the only thing I'm pretty good at is book stuff. I know all the concepts, but I'm not really that good at the physical part. It's a little intimidating." She glanced back over at her teammates, blushing slightly.

"That's a great start. And thank you for being polite this time. Don't worry about your ninja career for right now though Sakura. I think you'll find it easy to apply the book knowledge into actual combat ability, and I'm positive that when you find the thing that you are best suited for, you'll have no problem excelling at it. Don't let these two intimidate you. They have their own strengths and weaknesses. You'll learn soon enough."

"Thank you sensei."

"Don't worry about it. All right then, moving on again, Naruto, it's your turn."

"My name is Uzumaki, Naruto, and I like cup ramen! But my favorite is the kind that the old man at Ichiraku makes." He paused, thinking. "I don't like having to wait three minutes to eat it. I want to be a ninja because I want everybody in the village to recognize my existence and accept me! My dream is to one day become Hokage, and I want to be stronger than all the previous ones, even The Fourth!" He sat smiling, pleased with his answer to his teacher's question.

"Is that all you have to say?"

"Sasuke is an arrogant prick." He jerked his thumb at the boy standing next to him.

"You're an idiot." Sasuke didn't even seem fazed by the remark. Naruto looked like he was going to continue his insult, but was stopped by Obito.

"Hey! Don't start! Naruto, come over here." Obito hopped down from his perch and stood facing the young blonde. Naruto approached him cautiously. "You'll have to forgive me for this kid, but I think they should know."

"About what?"

"Take off your shirt."

"WHAT? YOU NASTY PERVERT!"

"Shut up and do as I say. I'm not trying to touch you in 'the bad place', so just do it."

"I don't wanna!"

Obito quickly reached behind Naruto, grabbed his jacket and undershirt, and yanked them over the boy's head in one quick gesture, before he could protest further. He didn't find what he was looking for. "Hey! Where the hell is it!"

"What the hell is wrong with you! I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Don't play stupid with me! I watched him put it there! What happened to it?"

"You're crazy! I'm telling old man Hokage you're not fit to be our teacher!"

"I know. Mold some chakra."

"No!"

"Do it now."

"I don't wanna!"

"Just show them! They should know what you are!"

"You jerk! Why would I wanna do that? So they can HATE me EVEN MORE? It's forbidden! Even for ME!"

Sasuke and Sakura sat watching the other two bicker. They both had wide eyes and open mouths. Hey hadn't expected their 'informational meeting' to turn out like THIS.

Sasuke was sure that Obito was trying to get Naruto to talk about that weird chakra that he'd seen with his Sharingan before. He didn't think that Naruto was actually THAT serious when he said it was forbidden for him to talk about it though. What could possibly be so secret? And why was Naruto so intent on them not knowing about it? How did Obito know? "Hey…Sakura…?" He glanced over at her, she look horrified about what she was seeing.

'_What the HELL does that sensei think he is doing? Stripping him like that! I don't need to be seeing those kinds of things!'_ She couldn't stop herself from remembering the taste of him in her mouth, and how it felt to be kissing him…and, his hands… _'BLAAAAA! NO! NO! NO! NOOO!'_ She covered her face with her hands shrank down to her knees. _'THIS IS THE WORST DAY OF MY LIFE!'_

Sasuke turned back to his new teacher and the Dead Last. He nearly choked when he saw what was happening over there. Obito was currently, apparently…trying to strangle Naruto to death…AND HE WAS LAUGHING ABOUT IT! _'That guy's…probably going to kill me! What the fuck!'_

"Damn it Naruto! I can do this all day!" Obito loosened his grip on Naruto's throat just slightly, enough for him to take one quick breath before again applying pressure. "Just mold some chakra!" Naruto gave him 'the finger'. Obito laughed about that. "Looks like I missed out on some interesting times!" He put on his serious face again. "Come on! It's not like everyone ELSE doesn't already know! They are going to be your teammates! You have start trusting them with your life! This is nothing!" He repeated the previous action. This time Naruto had breath in his lungs to speak with.

"Fuck y" He was being choked again. This was nice. Talk about having a fucked up day.

"Really, Naruto, this is important. I really need you to show them. Stop being such a little PUNK and MOLD SOME CHAKRA!" This time he held steady on Naruto's throat. The kid would cave. He'd have to! He knew that Naruto wouldn't actually let him just sit there and choke him to death. Would he? He examined Naruto's face tinting slightly blue, but he didn't look like he was about fight back. '_What the fuck!'_ He decided to be as calm about it as Naruto was. "You know, I hear the sensation of being strangled to death is supposed to be orgasmic." He got a puzzled look on his face and rubbed his chin with his free hand. "Do you even know what an orgasm is yet?" He stifled a laugh and glanced quickly at Sakura. Then he tuned back to Naruto. "I bet you do." He chuckled to himself. Naruto was starting to look a little pissed. '_About time!'_

"I heard it was drowning."

Obito turned at the voice. "What?"

"I heard that drowning to death is supposed to have the same sensation as an orgasm. Or is it just the suffocation part that does it? You know, drowning and choking, they both cause the brain to cease from lack of oxygen…but then, all forms of death stem from brain death…well, except maybe for decapitation…but if that's true, then would DEATH itself be orgasmic…and not just the strangling part?"

"YOU'RE FUCKING 12! Who the hell taught you those things?" Obito could not believe the words that had just come out of Sasuke's mouth. He forgot completely that he was still choking Naruto.

"Who do you THINK! ASSHOLE! So did you fucking torture him or NOT? I thought you were going to show me! Or are you just a fucking tease?"

Obito was absolutely shocked. This was almost the most fun he'd EVER HAD! He broke into an insatiable fit of laughter.

THIS HAS GOT TO BE THE SHITTIEST PLACE EVER TO END THIS CHAPTER! But that's what I gotta do. It's getting too long. I have twenty pages already and it's still not where it's supposed to end! Geez! So I guess I'm gunna post this, and then when I finish, I'll put up the rest. Don't worry, the end is drawing near…then I can get the next part! So stay tune for "…When They Became Genin…(part 4) and then, if you want more…I'll be working on: "With Bells On" Can you guess what that section will cover? Kukukuku Things are getting sticky now.

Once again…reviewers…YAY! snuggle Keep reviewing! It makes me dance with glee! See you in a few days with the next part! And as for what I said last time, perhaps it makes a little more sense now even though it ain't finished yet… (Hint: Naruto gets 'out-ed', Sasuke a roommate, and Sakura gets a clue!) winkwink

Here I go! Posting now!


	8. When They Became Genin Part 4

KU!KU!KU!KU!KU!KU!KU!KU!KU!KU!KU!KU!KU!KU! Ponder's Insanity…

A NEW ENDING: Here you go! Everyone was so confused that I decided to post the FULL scene that happens at the end of this chapter (which was supposed to be the beginning of chapter 9)…If you can't figure out the pairing after this…then I have failed…and all is lost!

SIDE NOTE: For all of you who are reading this wondering when somebody's gunna get laid…what can I say? I like foreplay! And I ain't the type to just throw some characters in a room and say "fuck". Plus, this story does deal with children, after all. Remembers when she was that age…evil grin

ON THAT NOTE: Okay, I was forced to make a judgment call. Since the wonderful and honorable Kishimoto San is oh so good at being 'vague' when it comes to the passage of time, I had to decide what to do about the ages of the 'gang' for myself. Based on the characters birthdays, I am going to assume that, Naruto is the oldest of the three (since he's the dunce), Sakura is next, and Sasuke is the youngest (since he is a genius or whatever). Anyway, so I'm going with Naruto and Sakura being thirteen, and Sasuke still being twelve. Does that put us at a reasonable place in time as far as this story's concerned? I just thought I should clarify that in advance.

I've added a better explanation of this to the end of this chapter. It's under the section marked "BIG ASS RANT". Feel free to read it if you like…it's mostly just me babbling, but it may offer a bit of insight to this story. So, yeah…whatever.

DISCLAIMER…or whatever: um, yeah…if I owned Naruto, I would say Screw College and just do nothing but Naruto all day long… (WAS…Loving spring break!)

WARNINGS: Language and violence … OC warning, same as last time…FLUFF! YAY! Um…what else…Torture? ...hehehe… Unresolved Sexual Tension. Maybe some hurt/help…or whatever…Man, I outdid myself this time! What's that other one…WFF…WAFF?...WTF. Who really cares THAT much? OMG! SUISIDE? COULD'T BE! Bla bla… M/F…M/M… (implied)

SPOILERS: Everything damn it! If you're reading this, then I hope you've read everything up to that unfortunate hiatus that Kishimoto San left us Naruto Fans with in like…NOVEMBER?….because if you haven't it's too damn late for me to fix it! So it's spoiled…or not…FABRICATION ABOUNDS! I'm okay…really.

Enough of my idiot babbling…on with the friggin' story!

When we left our heros, recall that Sasuke had just said a very peculiar thing, Obito was laughing his ass off, Sakura was having a nervous breakdown in her head, and Naruto was being choked to death! Have fun guys!

"When They Became Genin…(PART 4!)"

Sakura hadn't seen what was happening. She'd been screaming at herself in her head. She was paying no attention whatsoever to what was going on around her. She looked up, only when she heard Sasuke raise his voice. Surprisingly, it wasn't what Sasuke had said that made her gasp. "Sensei! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL HIM?" Sakura got to her feet and rushed over to where Naruto now lay slack in their teacher's grip.

Obito quickly removed his hand. "Oops. Hey! Don't freak out, he'll be fine. See? Look. He's coming around already!" Naruto's eyes blinked a couple of times, and then he slowly got to his feet. "Look! See? It worked!" Obito pointed towards Naruto's stomach.

Sasuke took interest immediately. He brought out his Sharingan and examined the markings that were etched about the other boy's midsection. He looked back up at Naruto's eyes. They were red again…and the pupils were elongated like a cat's. He'd seen those eyes before…a long time ago.

"_Hey!" Sasuke approached what he thought was another little boy, in the field just outside the village. The other boy was startled and jumped to his feet. "Whoa! I didn't mean to scare you…I was just trying to say hi! …So…are you all alone too?"_

"…_I'm always alone…"_

"_I'm supposed to be with my brother…but he took off and left me." Sasuke huffed and sat down. "He's always so mean to me! He acts like he doesn't want anything to do with me! Hmph! I'm just gunna sit here until my parents ask him where I am! Then he'll get in trouble!"_

"_Mean?"_

"_Yeah! He acts like I'm just a burden to him!"_

"_A burden."_

_Somewhere in the distance, there was a loud bang. The boy shrank down into the tall grass. The area around him glowed faintly. Sasuke spun around. "Yeah! The fireworks are starting! You can see them perfectly from here!" He turned back to the other boy who was now peeking curiously out from the top of the grass. "You like fireworks? My family makes them! Well not MY family, but my relatives do. We love fireworks! My father says, 'Within an Uchiha, there lays a spirit aflame.' Uchiha are masters of fire! We always have this festival, every summer right before my birthday!"_

"_Really?"_

"_Yeah! I'm gunna be seven in a couple weeks. How old are you?"_

"_Seven…I think…"_

"_Hey! We are the same age! Almost."_

"_Sasuke! …Sasuke!" Sasuke turned at the voice of his mother. "What are you doing out here all by yourself?" Itachi was following behind her. He looked bored and bothered to be there._

"_Itachi ran off and left me!" He pointed an accusing finger at his older brother._

"_You were supposed to keep up. I can't help it if you got too curious and wandered off."_

"_I told you to watch him Itachi! You know he's not as fast as you! You should have stayed closer to him!"_

"_He probably ran off on purpose to get me in trouble."_

"_I did not! I was walking back to the gate and I saw a boy and stopped to talk to him!" Sasuke turned to introduce him to his mother and brother, but the boy was gone. "Hey! Where'd he go?"_

"_Sasuke has an imaginary friend." Itachi smiled to their mother._

"_I DO NOT! He was just here! He was blonde! And he looked like a cat!"_

"_What did you say Sasuke?" His mother sounded concerned. He wondered what had upset her…other than Itachi that is. _

"_He…had marks on his cheeks like whiskers, and his eyes were like a cat."_

"_SASUKE! You must never speak to that boy again! Do you understand?" She grabbed him by the arm and hurried in the direction of the city gate. Itachi followed leisurely behind them. "He's not…he's not like other little boys! He's…he…just promise me that you will never speak to him again Sasuke!"_

"_But, why?"_

"_Because he dangerous. That's why. Just leave him alone from now on!"_

"_But he didn't seem dangerous. He seemed really nice!"_

"_Sasuke, if your father ever found out you talked to him you would be punished! Now promise me." _

"_All right…I promise."_

"Naruto, you stubborn little bastard. Why'd you make me do that to you? You should have just done like I said and showed them! Look, they're not running away screaming." Naruto narrowed his eyes at his teacher. He dashed and tried to hit him, but Obito was too fast and caught the punch. "From now on, keep dreaming of the day when you can actually land it." Obito let go of Naruto's hand and spun him around to face his other two teammates. "The man that put this thing on Naruto was my sensei. He was known as the greatest Jutsu Master in the history of this village. He gave his life to create this seal. Are you two following what I'm telling you?"

"You mean Yondaime Sama put that there?" Sakura was looking down at the spiral seal that was surrounded by ancient, foreign, characters she couldn't exactly read.

"He did," Obito replied.

"So it's true what they say?" The girl didn't exactly sound astonished. It was as if she had known already.

"What do they say?" Obito asked the girl that was now kneeling down to get a closer look at Naruto's mysterious seal.

"That I'm a demon. That's what they say." He looked down at her, but she didn't see it, she was studying the ancient script strewn about his stomach. A part of him suddenly wanted to blurt out the words 'While you're down there…' but he bit his tongue.

"Is it true what they say then?" Obito questioned Naruto.

"This is a 'Demon Seal' Curse, isn't it?" Naruto didn't sound amused.

"I think it is." Obito agreed

"Naruto's a …demon?" Almost in a daze, Sakura reached out to touch the seal, but when she realized what she was doing, she jerked her hand away, and looked up at him. She looked into his eyes. They were that weird blue again. _'Almost…indigo.'_ He glanced away from her.

"At least SOME things are starting to make sense." Sasuke stepped back and leaned on the rail again. He didn't seem to care.

"Can you please get your hands off me now?" Naruto pulled away from his teacher. Obito released him. He walked over to where his clothes now lay and scooped them up. He pulled his tee shirt out from inside his jacket and pulled it over his head. "Satisfied?"

Obito looked at the other two children. Sasuke looked as if he wasn't bothered in the slightest and Sakura looked like she was about to cry. "Well, what do you think? Are you scared of him?"

"Heh! I'm not scared of him. I don't care if he is a demon. I'll still kick his ass." Sasuke was grinning over at Naruto.

Naruto huffed and plopped down next to him. He unzipped his jacket and shoved an arm into its sleeve. "So, Yondaime was your teacher." He reached around and stuck his other arm through but left it unzipped. "Is that why old man Hokage is blackmailing you into teaching us?"

"Actually, that's a part of it I guess. I really wasn't trying to strangle you, you know, but I wanted to get that little piece of information out of the way. If I've learned anything in my years as a ninja, it's that secrets cause problems."

"Tell me about it." Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and jerked his head to the side as if something caught his attention somewhere off to his left. He was done playing for right now. For the first time in a while, he felt like he should just sit there and keep his mouth shut.

"Look, I wanted them to know because you kids have to become like siblings. You have to be willing to sacrifice yourselves for each other. This isn't a game. Even on low ranked missions, there is a good possibility that you could die, and I won't let anyone on my team die. Understand?" The three young ninja looked at their instructor and nodded their heads. "Good. I know you guys don't really get along that well, but you are going to have to. This is your team, from now until you die. That's all there is to it. There are reasons that we choose teams for Genin. One of them is your skills. You all have, what the Hokage thinks, is the same potential. You could all very well be the best. But you have to earn that title for yourselves, and you are not going to do that by bitching at each other all the time. Are you prepared for that?" Obito paused, allowing the three to sit and think about his question.

Naruto tried not to think. He was extremely pissed off at his new teacher, but for some reason, the words that Obito spoke to him the first time they met, suddenly hit home for him. "All Leaf Shinobi are comrades. One must never abandon his precious comrades when they are in need…" He looked up at his new teacher. "That's what you said right? That's what you're talking about. Isn't it?"

"Yeah kid. Something like that."

"That's fine with me. I can do that. I can be there for them." Naruto glanced over to his new comrades. "Can't say the same for them though."

"Well it looks like Naruto's game. What about you two?"

Sasuke didn't even have to think about it. He knew what he wanted. "I get it." He looked over at Naruto, remembering what Naruto made him agree to while they were walking to get lunch. "We have to play nice together. I can do that." He leaned forward and glanced at Sakura. She was just sitting there, staring hard at the ground. "Sakura?"

"Yeah. I think I can try to do that…I guess." She didn't know what else to say. Her mind wasn't really focusing on the conversation they were having. She was still freaking out over the fact that Naruto was…

"Then it's agreed! You are all family now. Remember that in the future. You guys need A LOT of work, but I think you'll do just fine. We'll save the group hug for another time. For now though, it's Sasuke's turn to speak to us." Obito sat down across from his students, and got comfortable. He hoped that by forcing Naruto to disclose his rather unique 'secret' that Sasuke would feel more comfortable speaking about himself. He hoped his plan worked. He was thankful that Naruto had been able to get past the boys defenses so easily. That at least, meant that he could be reached. "Well Sasuke? Talk to us. What's your situation?"

There was a long pause as Sasuke pondered what his answer to that question was. He seemed to weigh every possible outcome. Should he tell them? He'd never told anybody about the things that steadily drove him crazy more and more everyday. He felt sick just thinking about the things that Itachi had imbedded in his mind. Then with no kind of warning whatsoever, the dark haired boy spoke calmly.

"Well, my name is Sasuke Uchiha, and if I could equate my life with something, I'm pretty positive that it would be hell. A few years ago, my brother began acting strange, I was worried about him. And one night, when I came home, I found that somebody had slaughtered many of my relatives, right out in the street, so, I ran home to check on my parents. When I got there, I couldn't find them. I looked around the house, but there was no one there, so I went back outside to the dojo. When I reached the door, I heard my mother scream. She yelled for me not to open door, but I did it anyway, just in time to see my brother deliver their death blow. At first, I didn't understand what was happening, but then I realized that he'd just murdered them, and I got angry, so I attacked him. That was when he used Mangekyou Sharingan on me for the first time. He made me see him doing it, over and over again. Killing them I mean. But it wasn't over yet. I tried to run away from him but he followed me. He told me that he'd killed them to 'ascertain MY capacity' and that if I wanted to avenge my family, I would have to live a pitiful existence and care for nothing except strength and the desire to kill him. He said that when I could acquire the Mangekyou Sharingan that I should come for him, and we would have our final battle. Before he left, he used his new technique on me again. But this time he didn't make me see him killing my parents…he made me see him killing the whole clan. I know that night by heart now. I could walk through my old neighborhood and enter each one of those houses, exactly the way my brother did, and I could describe for you, word for word, the exact way that he murdered each and every Uchiha man, woman, and child. I even took a trip through it once. His route I mean, the exact path that he took when he mowed them down."

He paused again, but just briefly. His tone changed slightly. He sounded like the information he was giving them was perfectly normal. "I guess my favorite thing is playing with knives. And as far as my dreams are concerned, really, I don't think that's ever gunna happen now. See, my intent, was to train myself relentlessly, until I thought I might be stronger than my brother, and then I was going to find him and kill him. After I killed him, I was planning on killing myself, because I don't know how long I can keep my shit together and not just start killing people. I've found that certain things are able to calm me down enough for me to get control again, pain being one of them. I was actually paying attention to Iruka sensei when he talked about using 'Kai' to dispell genjutsu. He said that you could also remove your mind from the influence of genjutsu by remaining focused enough to inflict some kind of damage on yourself. Unfortunately for me, I've been finding that I have to do it a lot more than often than before."

He lifted his arm and began to undo the snap to the adjuster on his armband. His armband slid down his arm and rumpled up at his wrist. The skin underneath it was wrapped in bandages. He took out a kunai, and began cutting away at them while he spoke.

"You see, what he did to me, it wasn't just a one time thing. That shit stayed with me, and I can't get it out of my head. Sometimes I feel it when I'm just out walking around. I see it, like it was happening all over again." The bandages fell away. He didn't bother to undo the bottom snap. He just pushed it down a little further and showed the rest of them, what no one had ever seen before. He stared down at the rows of scars that ran nearly all the way from his elbow to his wrist. "It got to be like a game after a while." He traced his fingers along the marks. "See, like I would either kill myself, or I would live on to get stronger to kill my brother. It just so happens that I'm still here, and he's unfortunately lost his head. So I guess, no, I don't really have any dreams for the future, I'm pretty much just here for entertainment. What else am I gunna do? I'm fucked up in the head. Really, I think the only reason I'm still alive right now to be sitting here, telling you all of this, is the fight that I had with Dead Last yesterday. If he hadn't found me, I probably would have just killed myself when I woke up, and if he wouldn't have taken that kunai through the arm to beat me, I probably would have killed him. If that would have happened, I think I would have just went home and killed myself there…Or maybe not. Maybe I would have just ran around and seen how many people I could kill before someone was able to take me down." He paused again. "Anyway, I guess the reason why I wanna be a ninja 'right now' is, because it's the only thing I'm really good at." There was another long pause.

"That really was an excellent fight yesterday. I was watching it, and it totally played out like you were trying to kill each other. I was very impressed." Obito thought it best not to allow for anyone to over react to what they'd just heard. He himself wasn't really surprised. He owned that jutsu. He knew what it was capable of…and he also knew that Itachi wasn't really playing with a full deck. He hoped he could figure out something he could do for the kid. He seemed like he genuinely wanted help. "It's not everyday that a person gets to see a full on ninja 'one on one' battle with no restrictions. Even if you are just Genin, I have a feeling that you kids are going to do just fine as ninja. But you're gunna have to listen to me, because there are just some things that only experience can tell you, and if you aren't prepared for something, it can be the difference between life and death. Think about that tonight before you go to sleep. When death is closing in on you from all directions, how can you prepare yourself for it? That is the key to understanding what it is to be shinobi. Some people are lucky enough to easily understand this concept, others, spend their life trying to achieve it. That is the essence of The Shinobi Way. The rules of conduct state that one must adhere to a strict set of principles in order to achieve a life befitting the title of Shinobi. I, myself, have found that this task is easier said than done. This is real life, not some ideal laid down on parchment. There are going to be times when you find yourself conflicting with the ways of the ideal shinobi and the path that you've chosen for yourself. I'm here to guide you. I hope that you all will come to trust me enough to let me help you find your path. You also must have faith in each other. You three are the team. You need to be able to rely on each other and trust each other. That's what will keep you among the living. Do you follow what I'm saying?" The three Genin stared at their instructor, they all nodded. "Good then. Lesson learned. I guess we'll break for the day. Tomorrow, I want you guys to meet me at the practice field. The area near the three stumps. You know what I'm talking about?" They nodded again. "There's someone I'd like you all to meet. Be there at dawn. And don't be late…or I'll get pissed off. You don't want that." He got to his feet. "Naruto, I have a task for you to perform for me. Consider it a mission."

Naruto stood and brushed off the dirt from his pants. "What's that, sensei?"

"I want you to walk Sakura home. Make sure she gets there okay. Then wait for me at your apartment. There is something that you and I need to discus in private, but I have something I have to attend to right now. Can you do that?"

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever." His usual perkiness had been expended for the day. He held his hand out to help the girl up. She hesitated, but allowed him to assist her. He promptly let go of her as soon as she'd steadied herself, and started out on his mission. He absently waved over his shoulder for her to follow.

Sakura said nothing. She simply stood for a moment watching Naruto as he strolled on towards his destination. She gave Sasuke and her sensei one last look, and then hurried to catch up to Naruto. She walked next to him, but didn't turn to look at him at all. She kept her head forward and her hands behind her back. She didn't even know what to say. She was still trying to digest everything she'd just heard. She felt a horrible pain in her chest.

Naruto walked casually next to the girl who could hurt him more than anyone else ever could. He wanted to try to make some kind of conversation with her, but for some reason, his loud mouth had escaped him. He snuck glances at her as they walked. She didn't even notice. She was buried in her thoughts. He kept on walking, briefly wondering if she was okay. She didn't really look it to him.

Sakura stopped walking. She couldn't keep it up anymore. She stopped and crouched down by the fence that was on the side of the road and she sobbed. She drew her knees up to her chest and buried her face in her arms.

Naruto glanced back over to find that Sakura had gone her own way. He turned and saw her balled up by the side of the road. She was just sitting there shaking. _'Sakura…'_ He approached her with caution and crouched down in front of her. "Hey…Sakura…What's wrong?" Sakura didn't reply. She just sat there sobbing into her knees. "Look…um…I know you're still mad at me…but you can talk to me…I just wanna help…" He reached out and rested his hands on hers. "Come on now… Talk to me." She lifted her head and looked up at him, tears still pooling in her eyes. Naruto felt a horrible pain in his chest.

"Did you know?" She wiped her eyes and sniffled a little. "Did you know about him Naruto? About those things that he said?" She started crying again.

"What, you mean about Sasuke? Well, not really, but I kind of thought that there might be something…wrong…I…" He took her face in his hands and wiped the fresh tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. He chuckled to himself, "I mean… I always knew he wanted to kill me, but I didn't think he was THAT serious." Sakura's face puckered as if she was about to start crying again. "Aw come on now…I was just trying to make you laugh…don't cry…look…there was no way you could have known any of that stuff…don't be sad…" Sakura leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the closest thing to her and sobbed into his chest.

"I feel so stupid! I always just wanted to be there for him…I had no idea…"

"Hey now…don't feel bad! That guy…he can't deal with stuff like this…he doesn't know how…he probably wanted to tell you, but he didn't want to see you like this…" Naruto stroked the girl's hair trying to comfort her. He just wanted so badly for her to feel better. It was all he could think to do. It was something he would have done for anyone, if they'd let him. The worst part of it was, he never wanted to see her that way either. It hurt like hell. "But he told us…that's good right? He trusts us. That means that he wants things to get better…right? It was him who asked YOU if you would play nice with us, wasn't it? That's like him saying he wants to try to be friends, with YOU!" He pushed her back a little to look at her. "That's good isn't it?" He gave her his best smile.

She smiled weakly up at him. "I guess so…"

"There ya go! That's much better!" He got to his feet, and again held out his hand for her to help her back to her feet. "Come on then. Let's get you home."

Sasuke stood before his instructor. The last of his clan, save himself. He said nothing, only pulled up his armband and readjusted the strap to fit again. He glanced at his new comrades retreating backs. His face showed no kind of clue as to what the boy was feeling after his sudden confession. It was just like it always was, flat and unaffected.

"I figured it was something like that." Obito stood up and dusted himself off. "I'm glad that you got it out of the way with out me having to choke you."

"Do you think you can help me?" Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets and looked casually at Obito. "You have it too…you must know how it works."

"I can't promise anything, but I'll do whatever I can. I'll say that much."

Sasuke looked away again, not sure whether he should ask his next question. "So, did you make him suffer? I know you don't have any love for our clan, but…"

Obito chuckled and slapped his hand on the boys shoulder. "Hegh hegh… I'll put it this way…He didn't go down easily. I'm sure he was in a lot of pain at the end. If that's worth anything..."

Sasuke nodded blankly to him. "I guess it has to be. That's all there is."

"Hokage Sama told me that he spoke to you already…about our new arrangement."

"He did."

"How do you feel about that?"

"Don't say it that way…"

"Hmm?"

"There's this woman, they make me talk to her sometimes…she always says that to me. I fucking hate it."

"Sorry."

"Anyway, I guess I don't mind having to stay with you. It's probably better that way. If something happens…at least now I know that you'll be there…" He turned to Obito with a smirk on his face. "…to take care of me."

Obito recognized the sarcasm in the boy's voice. It made him smile. "I meant what I said. I don't ever want to see it happen, but I won't let you endanger anyone in this village. You're going to become an excellent ninja. I can already tell. But I won't suffer a traitor to live. Get it?"

"Yeah." A small smile played at the corner of his lips, then faded. "I want to…I don't ever want to cause the kind of pain that my brother did…ever."

"You've dealt with enough. Time to start moving on. Come on, show me your place."

"The place I stay, or the place I'm supposed to live?"

"The place you took Naruto yesterday." He gave Sasuke a questioning look.

"The place I stay."

"Yeah," he chuckled, "I guess."

"It's a loft. Only room for one."

"I didn't say I was moving in. I just wanna see how you're living."

"Right."

Naruto and Sakura continued their walk in silence again. Sakura looked like she felt a lot better, but she looked far from great. She walked with her head down, as if she was examining each step she placed, carefully.

"You know what's funny?" Naruto glanced at Sakura, not even expecting her to respond. He continued as if she wasn't even listening to him. "Iruka sensei says that I'm supposed to be separate from it." He folded his arms behind his head and continued walking, not even glancing over to see if she was paying attention or not. He kept talking. "I think that's kind of bull shit though. I mean, yeah, I'm Naruto. Not some demon right? But that's just it. I don't really think that Naruto is separate from that thing." He laughed lightheartedly at his own words. It was kind of nice that she knew. He'd never been able to say those kinds of things casually before. Actually, he couldn't recall a time that he'd ever spoken about it at all. But he always knew about it though. That bothered him. "I think Naruto is a demon."

He laughed again. But it wasn't his usual cheerful giggling that she was so used to hearing. It sounded like it was genuine and honest. Sakura thought that must be the way that he laughed to himself…when he was alone. She looked over at him. There was a small smile on his lips. It made the 'whiskers' on his cheeks bunch up. His gaze was narrow. He looked so different to her now, but he hadn't changed at all. It was just that she'd never seen him like this. She glanced up and noticed that they were quickly approaching her house. "This is far enough." She stopped walking. Naruto paused and looked at her. "If my parents see me with you…"

"Heh! Don't worry about it." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "This is my street anyway." He turned and gave her a wave over his shoulder. "See you tomorrow, Sakura."

Sakura stood and watched him go. She didn't know that he lived near her. She saw him slip off his jacket and sling it over his shoulder. Her eyes focused on the large red spiral that was on the back of his tee shirt. It looked like it was painted on by hand. She squinted to see it more clearly. It wasn't a single spiral. It was nine separate lines that pin wheeled out from a circular center. _'Nine…Tails…'_ She hurried into her house and headed directly to her bedroom. She fell on the bed and lay there staring at the ceiling. She was glad her parents weren't home. They'd have a million questions for her. She did NOT want to have to answer them. She was a mess. She felt horrible! She couldn't stop thinking about all those things she'd always said to him! She'd called him a monster and a beast and just about every other nasty thing she could think of. She did it without even realizing what she was saying! That's just how people always talked about him! That's what she'd been taught. Why was he always so nice to her? She WAS a horrible bitch!

Naruto pulled his keys out of his pocket and unlocked his door. "Home again! Wow…" He looked around at the cluttered 'one room' apartment. "It feels like about a million years since I left…weird." He entered and kicked off his sandals, not because it was what one was supposed to do before entering, but because he really just didn't like to have the damn things on his feet. After tossing his bloodstained jacket in the pile with the rest of them, he strode over to the heap of cushions and blankets that were his makeshift 'couch' and plopped down on them. After stretching out, and getting comfortable, he let his mind wander for a while. Today had been an interesting day. _'Lunch was good. Filling.'_ He smiled. _'I wonder if there's anything that's not rotten in the fridge.' _He laughed when he remembered the nasty milk he drank that morning. '_Guess I'll have to go' out' for dinner. Hegh hegh…' _For some reason he felt really tired. His eyes slid closed and he snuggled his head deeper into his fluffy heap of pillows. He thought about Sakura. He told her he was sorry…about what he did to her. He grinned faintly. He wasn't sorry at all. The only thing he was sorry about was that he had to hear another guy's voice saying her name. That sucked. _'Sakura…'_

Sakura lay on her bed and sobbed. She buried her face in her pillow and tried not to think about the two boys that she couldn't seem to get out of her head. Why did this shit have to happen? Sasuke was all fucked up in the head, and the only boy she'd ever truly hated, was starting to become something entirely different… _'AND HE'S A FUCKING DEMON!' _She started to remember what she'd done with him earlier that day…on that bench.

'_That girl is going to end up giving me some serious problems. Why does she have to be so cute? It's like she's a naïve child…wait…what? That was weird. Damn her for making me get like this! I hate it! Why do I put up with this shit?'_

'_DAMN IT ALL! I HATE THEM BOTH! FUCKING BASTARDS! WHY DID I HAVE TO BE PUT ON A TEAM WITH THEM? This is the worst day of my life!'_

Naruto rolled onto his back and rested his 'good' arm behind his head. He brought his bandaged left arm up to his stomach and reached it under his shirt. He slid the fabric up to get it out of the way and scratched a little at the area near the waistband of his pants. He yawned.

"I see. So this is where you keep your weapons. Nice. Tasteful." Obito was examining the rather large room that he'd just entered. The first thing he noticed was the mass of kunai that was hanging from the wall, then he noticed that what little the room had for furniture, could easily be pushed aside, opening up the whole mass of the room. "You practice here?"

"Sometimes. Mostly I just don't like to be bothered. No one comes around here, so they don't know I stay here. Why were you following me yesterday?" Sasuke shut the door and crossed the room to sit down. He stretched out and folded his arms across his chest, observing Obito carefully.

"Well, it wasn't you I was following so much, as it was Naruto."

"Because I stuck him."

"No, because I was hoping I could have a chance to talk to him before word got around about the fact that I'm his guardian." He narrowed his eyes at Sasuke. "I was supposed to do that yesterday, but I never got the chance. Thanks to you. And you had to go and blab it to him! Thanks. I really want to deal with THAT now."

"That makes you the dick for abandoning him. Don't get mad at me. You know, I met him a long time ago, when I was a kid. He told me that he was always alone. I get it now. You left him here. If it was me, I'd be pissed. He didn't seem mad though. He acted like he didn't even know what that meant. You aren't his 'daddy' or anything are you?"

"HAHAHA! I was barely older than you are when he was born! Do I look that old? What's more, does he LOOK Uchiha to you?"

"Hn. Still, you never know. My brother did say that he was hunting a demon. Naruto is a demon. Two and two, you know?"

Obito didn't even realize that Sasuke would know about that…he forgot he'd shown him. _'Oops. Oh well. Guess it doesn't really matter now anyway.' _The kid was clever at any rate. "Itachi did say that, didn't he?"

"Yeah I remember that now. It's been added to my memory. Now do you get why I'm so fucked up? Itachi fucking poisoned me with his memories. They fucking swirl around in my head as if they really happened to me. He murdered a couple hundred people that night! INCLUDING MY PARENTS!" Sasuke laughed to himself for a minute. When he calmed down, he rubbed his eyes and continued. "…and not only did he make me witness it personally, he showed me everything he saw as he was planning and doing it. I saw what he did to get Mangekyou Sharingan. He drowned the man he 'loved like a brother' in the Nakano River. That guy, he even came and talked to me right before my brother killed him…" Sasuke paused as he forced himself to shove down the memory of 'Itachi' 'murdering' Shisui. "He pretty much told me why Itachi was going to do it, and I didn't even know it. My brother planned it that way." He paused. "That's why I wanted to kill him. And that's why I wanted to kill myself."

"Do you still want to kill yourself?"

"Not really. I had fun yesterday. I think I'll stick around and see how things go with the Dead Last."

"Why do you call him that?" Obito chuckled at the name.

"Because that was his place. Last. So one day I just started calling him that. I thought it was funny. That name has a whole new meaning now. Now it's because he's the last one standing, so he's Dead--Last. Get it?"

Obito paused, thinking about it. "Whatever little kid. I was under the impression that you didn't really get along with him. That's why I'm here talking to you right now."

"I never said I had a problem with him, other than the fact that he's become quite loud and obnoxious. Actually, I never really paid much attention to him at all until yesterday." Sasuke pulled a kunai from his pouch. He reached over the edge of the futon and picked up a rag and a bottle of oil. He began polishing it while he spoke. "I was told he was dangerous. It's true. I don't even think he knows. It would seem that he only acts like an idiot when he's trying to get people to pay attention to him, but when he's trying NOT to be noticed, that's when you get to see Naruto." He smirked up at 'his guardian'. "He's a predator." Sasuke held the blade up to examine its 'shininess'. "Look what he did to Sakura. If I wouldn't have show up there,"

"I would have shown up."

"What, you wouldn't have let him drag her in the bushes and fuck her senseless…As me?"

"Such a mouth for a little kid!"

"What can I say, I grew up wrong. Why didn't you show yourself to me when you saw him pass out yesterday? You could have saved me a lot of trouble and a lost night of sleep. I was tired after that fight."

"I wondered how you would react to having to tend to him."

"Why?"

"If you would have left him there, I would have killed you."

"Understandable, since you care for him so. I'm sure I wouldn't have minded." Sasuke sat up and looked Obito in the eyes. "Can I ask you something?"

"Does it have to do with torture?"

"Actually, yes." He chuckled to himself. "Have you ever had it used on you? Have you ever been inside the Kaleidoscope?"

"Honestly?"

"Of course."

"Yeah. I have."

"That's interesting."

"Let's leave that for another time. I've someplace I really have to be."

"Fine. I'm tired anyway. I don't feel like entertaining anymore guests today."

"Stay here. I'll come get you when I'm done. I'll show where 'home' is going to be."

"Fine." Sasuke stretched back out on the futon, and rolled over to his side. He slid his freshly polished kunai under his pillow. "No need to lock it on your way out. Like I said, no one comes here."

"Oh yeah, since we're 'bonding', I plan on extending my hospitality to Naruto as well. Is that going to be a problem for you?"

"As long as I get to train with him every day, I don't care. I'll be going to sleep now."

"Sleep well." Obito made for the door. When he reached it, he turned back to his unfortunate relative. "It's really kind of funny kid. That you pick this place to 'stay' I mean. …I used to live here." Obito shut the door behind him and headed through the empty streets back towards the living part of the village. "Now to have a little chat with Naruto… This should be interesting."

Naruto lay relaxed and comfortable on his heap of pillows and blankets. His damaged arm had begun to feel better already. The horrible throbbing had stopped at least. He gently let his fingertip trace the spiral shape in the center of his seal. It tickled…but not too much. He continued repeating the action. A luminescent red mist leaked out of the seal and spiraled its way up his arm to the area of the gash. Obito had managed to heal it enough to stop the bleeding and re-grow the scab, but the damage was still there. It would take forever to heal all by itself, and he didn't really feel like just walking around with that kind of weakness.

Naruto closed his eyes and waited patiently for the chakra to do its work. His thoughts drifted back to when his sensei tried to heal him._ 'What the heck happened back there?' _He hadn't even noticed he was bleeding that badly. Obito's chakra…felt weird. He didn't like it at all. He recalled the sensation. _'Blaaaa!'_ But right before that, right as he was waking up… _'It was warm…It felt…safe…and warm…'_

Naruto's eyes snapped open and he shot up with a start. _'What the hell was that?'_ He looked down at his arm again. It felt…better! He yanked at the bandages and tangled them about himself, trying to check his wound as quickly as possible. When he saw it, he just stared. There was nothing there. It was gone. He sat there, loosely tied in his bandage roll, examining the newly grown flesh. He traced his fingers over the area where it had been. It was pristine. Like nothing had even happened. "Sweet."

There was a knock at the door. He jumped up, untangled himself from the bandage, and looked around quickly to see if anything incriminating was left just lying around. Ramen cups, books, scrolls, bloody clothing…empty cans of spray paint. _'Shit!' _He gathered the cans and stuffed them behind the cushions of his 'couch', where they would be out of sight. _'Okay, anything else? Hmm…Nah. It's just Obito sensei.' _He opened the door. "Sakura?"

Sakura jumped at the sudden opening of the door. She was terribly nervous to begin with, it didn't help that Naruto seemed full of energy again and he'd just shouted her name. "Umm…Hey…"

Naruto stepped outside with her but kept the door open. "Wwwwhaaat are you doing here?" Something dawned on him. "How'd you know where I live?"

"I followed the graffiti." She replied as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. Naruto just gawked at her. "Ummm…"

"Did you want to come in or something?" He pushed open the door a little further incase she decided to take him up on his offer. Maybe he should give her a little more 'incentive'. "I don't bite." He lied. He could remember biting a couple of people…but he'd never 'bite' Sakura! _'Unless she wanted me to... !.'_

"I…guess." She HAD agreed to 'play nice' hadn't she? She ducked down and stepped under the arm that was leaning on the doorframe. Naruto stepped aside to let her pass. She looked around briefly then headed to the only place that looked safe to sit on and sat down. Naruto quickly shut the door and followed her. For some reason she took note of the fact that he didn't lock it. She relaxed a little.

"Soooo…Why are you here?" Naruto sat next to her, but kept his distance. The last thing he wanted was to be punched in the face.

Sakura leaned back on the cushions and felt something poke her in the back. She reached for it, and pulled it out. It was an empty can of spray paint. Naruto chuckled nervously and held out his hand to receive it. He placed it on the crate that doubled as a 'table' and turned back to her. "I was um…wondering…about something…"

"So ask me." Naruto didn't really know how to act. It was a strange occurrence. He felt a little…confused.

"Well, Obito sensei…told me that you were at Sasuke's house yesterday…"

"Yeah? What are you going to yell at me for 'getting him dirty'?" He didn't mean for it to come out sounding so harsh, but Sakura flinched like he'd hurt her.

"I wanted to know…where he lived."

"Sakura! There is no way I'm telling you that! I know you like him Sakura, but I do NOT think you need to go there! I'm not just trying to keep you away from him either…well I AM, but not the way you're thinking! If he flipped out and hurt you, I'd kill him!"

"I need to talk to him Naruto. Please tell me."

"No. Not a chance." He turned from her to avoid looking at her pouty eyes.

"Pleeeeaaase Naruto." She reached out and grabbed his arm. "You owe it to me… for earlier." Her hand gripped the skin of his left arm. She looked down at it. Her eyes widened when she realized that it was no longer bandaged, and it was completely healed. There wasn't even a scar. _'Obito sensei didn't do that…'_

Naruto looked down at Sakura's hand. He knew she'd noticed. _'Shit.'_ "I'll take you there."

"I need to talk to him alone. Please… Do this one thing for me."

"Why are you doing this to me Sakura? Stop acting all nice!" He yanked his arm away. "Ask me anything else in the world, and I'll do it for you. I swear. But not that. I won't. Why don't you just wait here and ask Obito sensei. I'm sure he knows. He's probably with him right now. You know Sasuke has to live with him now don't you?"

"No. I don't know anything about him, remember? I didn't even know about his brother! I don't know him at all!"

"Damn it Sakura! I don't wanna do this with you right now! I don't want to argue! Obito sensei is coming over here pretty soon, probably to yell at me for what I did to you earlier, and if he finds you here he'll just yell at me more. I'm not telling you were he lives. It ain't my business. You're going to see Sasuke tomorrow anyway. Talk to him there." Naruto pulled off his hitai-ate and ran his fingers though his messy hair.

"Why did you do it?" Sakura was glaring at Naruto.

"What?"

"Don't act stupid. You know what!"

"I was just trying to talk to you Sakura. I never planned on any of that happening. Well, except for the part where you said that you hate me. I pretty much already figured that. You know, I don't get you. Why would you even think that I would want anything but good things for you?"

"W-what?"

"You said if I had my way, you'd never find love or happiness. Why would you even think that?"

Sakura didn't know what to say. She just stared at the floor. After a moment, her expression changed. She looked furious. "Because… DAMN IT! I'M STILL PISSED AT YOU! Stop trying to turn things around on me! You're the one who MOLESTED me on that bench you perverted asshole!"

"You threw yourself at me!"

"I threw myself at Sasuke! Idiot! You are SOOO lucky that Obito sensei told me earlier that you were at Sasuke's house because he did that to your arm. I figured you planned it. I guess since you didn't, that means I don't have to kill you in your sleep."

"You were actually thinking about doing that?"

"YES! TO BOTH OF YOU! You'd think that once, after all these years, he would have thought to tell me that he was insane, and YOU! YOU'RE A FUCKING DEMON! WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE TO BE PUT ON A TEAM WITH YOU TWO? WHY ME DAMN IT?"

"CHE! Just this morning you were jumping for joy that you were going to be on a team with Sasuke! NOW you're pissed? Just be glad that he isn't dead right now okay?"

Sakura stopped bitching. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, we all have to get along now. Why not make the best of it? We're ninja now. Technically, we could die at any time. I think what Obito sensei is telling us, is that we need to enjoy the time we have together, because one day it's all well and good, but the next day it's gone… and you never get it back. The Way of the Shinobi is one without feelings. That's what Sasuke wants. He doesn't want to feel anything anymore. I think that's why Obito sensei spoke to us about all that stuff earlier. He wanted him to tell us about his feelings. He didn't want Sasuke to know."

"Naruto…you…"

"What…"

"…"

"I what?"

"I don't know…"

"Why do you do this to me Sakura?"

"Do what?"

"I don't know."

* * *

Obito made his way up the street that he'd not been on in more than ten years. He'd had no reason to come there. It stung to see that not much had changed since then.

"_Well, looks like this my stop. Now you just gotta lug that shit up a couple flights of stares and you're done. How bout that. I bet you got paid A LOT for this gig."_

"_I probably won't even get paid actually. See, I'm being punished. My sensei got mad because I came back two days late from a mission, and I lost the one I was supposed to have lined up, and the guy that took it, failed the mission. My sensei is pissed that I made him look bad. So here I am, lugging around all this shit for you, instead of taking a mission that would have paid fairly well."_

"_Hahaha. I get it. He's your sensei. That explains a lot. Heh heh. Well look, it's been fun kid. Just drop the shit inside and be off then. I can take it from here."_

"_Sure thing lady. I'll just be getting back to my wonderful adventurous life now. See you around."_

"_Hey kid!"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Come back here."_

"_Why?"_

"_Let's have us a little chat."_

"_About what?"_

"_About whatever. You got something better to do? Don't you ever just get the urge to sit and talk to someone sometimes?"

* * *

_

"You know him better than I do."

"What?" Naruto looked at his guest. She suddenly looked like she'd just figured out something very important.

"You…all those things you just said…about Sasuke…I thought you hated him."

"Nah…not really…it's just the fact that he's so fucking perfect. It pisses me off. Things come so easily to him, and he acts like none of that even matters. It just bothered me, that's all. I don't really blame him though. Not anymore. If I were in his situation, I'd wanna be that way too."

"…"

* * *

Obito climbed the familiar stare case, dreading the heap of shit that he was going to have to hear from Naruto. He hated getting bitched at. He had managed to avoid being bitched at for a long time now, and he had been hoping to avoid it for as long as possible. Just before he got there, he realized something important. '_DAMN IT! I FORGOT IT! What the hell!_' Obito quickly formed the seals to his teleportation jutsu and vanished in a puff of smoke. Normally, Obito preferred to walk to his destinations. It took longer to get there. He made an exception this time because he wanted to get this particular little heap of shit over with, and he was not about to go racing back to the other end of town to get the unfortunately forgotten item.

* * *

"…Naruto…"

"Yeah?"

"Um…"

"What is it?"

"…Can I…"

"Can you…?"

"…Can I see it again?"

"See what?"

"…"

"Sakura?"

"Your seal… I want to see it again… Will you show it to me?"

* * *

"What a pain in the ass. Where the hell did I take it off at?" Obito searched frantically for the item he'd forgotten. He knew he had it last night!

* * *

Naruto stood, gazing calmly at his guest. "Why?"

"What?" Sakura looked surprised at the question.

"Why do you want to see it? What's so special about my seal today? Everyone wants me to show it off. It's weird. I've never even talked about it with anyone except for Iruka sensei, and that was just last week! I'm kind of not really mentally prepared for all this, all of a sudden."

"Come on! Just show it to me."

"You didn't answer my question. Why do you want to see it?"

"…I just do…please?"

"Please don't start that again Sakura… You remember what happened last time you used that trick on me." He remembered the way she'd whined at him when she was begging him to kiss her earlier… _'So what if she thought it was Sasuke! He wouldn't have done her like THAT! I gave her my all!' _Naruto smirked smugly in his head._ '…or would he?'_

"Yeah. You didn't do what I wanted. You said you'd do anything but THAT. ReMEMber? Do THIS then." Sakura folded her arms smugly across her chest. She smirked at him.

He hated that look. "Fine." Not allowing himself to be defeated by the likes of her, he stood up and removed his tee shirt. He tossed it aside and approached her defiantly. He stood directly in front of her. He made sure that he was close enough for her to get a good look at it this time.

Sakura, not believing that he would give in so easily, was taken off guard. She found herself gazing directly at his midsection. She was surprised at how surprised she was! "_Naruto is packed!_" His body was small, but well muscled. It looked liked he didn't have an ounce of fat on him. He wasn't muscular though. He was lean and toned. "What are you waiting for?" She looked up at him, a hint of annoyance played on her face.

"Give me a minute." Naruto had his eyes closed. He inhaled deeply and exhaled slow and steady. He brought his hands together and formed the channeling seal. He continued his breathing exercise.

Sakura's eyes widened when she saw the 'Demon Seal' bleed out from under his skin. The ancient script almost seemed to dance around on his flesh before settling into its final resting place. She gasped. It was…beautiful. She gazed at it, as if it held her by some kind of mysterious force. She leaned in closer.

Naruto tried his best to keep it up. It was hard for him to channel that much chakra to force the seal out. He knew he needed to stay completely relaxed or he'd just end up exhausting himself. He thought it would be rude if he just passed out on the floor and left Sakura stuck there with him unconscious, until Obito arrived.

* * *

Sasuke lay awake on his 'couch'. He knew he was probably lying when he told Obito that he was going to go to sleep. All the talk about old times was taking its toll on him. He gripped at the kunai under his pillow. Sweat poured from his brow and his breathing was hitched. He wrestled mentally with the images that were invading the backs of his eyelids.

Sasuke felt the sensation of another's hands on him. They tangled in his hair. They tugged at it in a way that was slightly unpleasant, but it felt good. He gasped as he felt the others lips on his neck. They sucked at his flesh, just a tiny bit too hard. He grit his teeth. A moist tongue slid its way up to his mouth. Teeth lightly pinched his bottom lip. Sasuke tightened his grip on the person in front of him and forced his own tongue in the other's mouth. He heard the person moan. It excited him. He dug his nails into the other's back. He smiled to himself. He moved forward, pushing the other's back against the wall. He pressed himself against them. The hands untangled themselves from his hair and slipped down his arms. Warm fingers tangled with his own. His hands were cold. It felt very good. He squeezed them briefly, then drew his hands away and gripped the other's wrists firmly. He drew the other's arms up and slammed them against the wall. The other chuckled slightly. Sasuke grinned and took the other into another passionate kiss. He ground his hips against the body in front of him. He moaned at the tension he found there. He couldn't wait to feel it.

The words, "We have an audience," were breathed into his ear.

He pulled away and paused. The sound of heavy breathing filled his ears. He stepped back, separating himself from the other person completely, but didn't turn from them. Sasuke heard what sounded like a twisted version of his own voice…

"Go back to sleep…Sasuke." Sasuke heard a gasp, followed by hurried footsteps retreating down the hall. "Don't go anywhere." He told the person that had informed him of their little… 'voyeur'. _'Stop…please just fucking stop!' _Sasuke turned to follow the intruder down the hall.

The other answered him. "I wouldn't dare." _'Please…'_

Sasuke quietly made his way down the hall and slid open the door of 'his brother's' room. He approached the little boy who was now pretending to be asleep.

"Sasuke…" he sighed. "You're such a curious child…" He sat on the boy's bed.

"Listen, you mustn't ever speak of what you saw me doing just now. Promise me…" He waited for a response. Nothing. "So innocent..." He reached out his hand and ran it through the spiky bristles that were the boy's hair. His little brother turned to face him.

"Aniki…" _'…move...'_

"Sasuke, why were you watching us?"

"…I heard a noise…"

"You should have been asleep. You have school in the morning."

"I know…I couldn't sleep."

"Sasuke, promise me you won't tell anyone what you saw, alright?"

"Why? …Is it…wrong?" _'Move…_'

"Some people seem to think so…" Sasuke paused, considering his words carefully. "You're too young to worry about those things Sasuke. Listen, if you do as I ask, I promise I'll take you out to practice with shuriken after my next mission. All right?"

"Really? You promise?"

"Of course…Little brother."

"Yeah!"

"Shhhh…you have to be quieter. Our parents are sleeping." Sasuke told his little brother in a hushed voice. "This has to be our little secret. I'm supposed to be busy with ANBU missions right now, so it's hard to find the time to play with you."

"It's not playing, it's training! I want to get stronger than you someday!"

"Hmhmhmhm." Sasuke laughed as he patted his little brother on the head. "Do you really want to BE like me Sasuke?" _'MOVE!'_

"Yeah. Everyone looks up to you because you are the strongest. I want to be strong like you!"

"And you want me to help you?"

"Of course! That's what brother's are supposed to do, isn't it?"

"I can't help you every step of the way Sasuke. Some things you just have to experience for yourself." '_MOVE! MOVE!_ _MOVE!'

* * *

_

Sasuke gasped and shot upright. He quickly jammed his kunai into his leg. "FUCK!" That hurt. The vision was more intense this time. _'Damn it!'_ Things didn't seem to be getting any better. He wanted so badly to be able to sleep. He was just so tired, but he couldn't even think about sleeping right then though, he had a kunai sticking out of his leg, and it was bleeding profusely. He gritted his teeth and yanked it out. "AAAGH! Damn it!" He tossed the bloodied knife on the glass table and observed the fresh wound as it stained his white shorts red. "Why is this happening to me?" He pleaded to the empty room. "Why can't I make it stop?"

Sasuke didn't want to have to cut himself any more. He wanted it to end. What could possibly be worth this? He pondered just letting it bleed. Maybe he'd be lucky enough to bleed to death. He wouldn't really be killing himself then…he'd just be letting himself die…granting himself mercy. That was justifiable. Fuck being a ninja. Fuck training relentlessly. Fuck being alone. What the fuck did he have to look forward to? Rebuilding his clan? Right. Let that Obito fucker do it. He didn't want any part of it. Just the THOUGHT of having sex made him want to vomit. It reminded him of that time he got to fuck Shisui right before he drowned him. Oh yeah, then there was the whole bunch of murder that he did not long after that. He was surprised that he hadn't had balls to rape his own mother and make his father watch. Oh wait, that wasn't even him! That's right, Itachi did that. FUCK ITACHI! Fuck Mangekyou Sharingan! And fuck the fucked up visions Itachi gave him! Fuck trying to make them stop! His family had their justice didn't they? If there was a hell, Itachi was rotting in it now! There was no need for him to even exist anymore. _'FUCK IT ALL!' _

"Aniki…maybe I'll see you there…" He leaned his head on the back of the futon, brought his hands up to his face, and rubbed away the moisture. He pulled off his sweat soaked Hitai-ate and tossed it onto the bare floor. The clatter it made as the metal part hit the wooden floorboards rang in his ears. His arms fell to his sides. _'Guess I'll just wait and see…'

* * *

_

TA DA! There you go! There it is! The WHOLE scene! It's been driving me crazy! I finally decided to add it to THIS chapter, because what I have right now for chapter 9 is over 14,000 words long! I needed to cut it down! And since I promised an ending, (sort of,) at the end of the next chapter, it worked out better for me to just tack on the extra pages to this chapter. Sorry for all the confusion. I just have a sick and weird brain that sometimes gets the better of me.

I've been working on some other stuff on the side too…some future stuff…but first I must make it to "With Bells On". You probably all can guess that it will deal heavily with Obito (((AND KAKASHI? AND…AND…OMG! AHHHH!))). Damn it! I really, REALLY, want to get that part done with so I can get to the Wave mission! (((I LOVE YOU HAKU!)))

FINAL THOUGHT: As always, your feedback is GREATLY appreciated! For all you people who took time out of your lives to review and/or compliment me (or tell me I suck), I offer a giant ball of fuzzy, tear filled 'THANKS!' I hope I can keep on delivering the goods to your liking! Stay tuned for chapter 9…sorry for the delay, but school is on now and I have actual work that I must complete before I can fulfill my sick fantasies…evil grin …and that chapter is fucking LONG! SHEESH!

OKAY! REVIEWER STUFF AND SOME QUICK LAUGHS:

GHONCHI---I just have one thing to say…I just love Freudian slips! Really, everyone, go check for yourselves! In chapter 7, I actually wrote this!

'_Damn it all! Naruto's stupidness is rubbing off (insert word here: the word is "ON") Sasuke now!' _

ON! I MEANT "ON"! (((I told you that YOU were the pervert! PERVERT!))) I should shut up and go to sleep now. (((DAMN RIGHT!))) d(-)b Right on! (((pst! Did anyone notice the other one I slipped in there? Here's a hint: The word is supposed to be "ripped" NOT RIBBED! WTF?))) OMG…that was just too much! …and that whole MEAT thing…sigh ...(smacks forehead)

HAHAHAHHAHAHA! (((LMAO!))) No matter how many times I check for mistakes I can never EVER find them all! Thank you very much for pointing that out GHONCHI! I haven't laughed this hard….since…the last time I did that! (((LMAO))) So, I wonder if I should change it or leave it there…I'm so embarrassed.

Pixiequeen….your email address is awesome! I know, it's a silly thing to compliment but, it really is…I just felt I had to say that….

Gravidy…I LOVE YOU! snuggle (don't worry I'm not stalking you…heeheehee…)

Ghostninja…You and your fic are making me foam at the mouth! Is your hand better yet? Glomp

Lauren…Orochimaru…AAHHH! I wanna get to it sooo bad! And Kakashi is coming! Sometime…in the future…when I get there…sigh

DAMN IT! I NEED TO POST THIS LIKE NOW! OKAY! HERE I GO!

* * *

BIG ASS RANT: And random babbling. Feel free to skip this if you want…

There is one thing I feel I must mention because a lot of people have commented on it. I know how old the manga says the people are….but I've decided to assume, for the purposes of this story, that 1) Naruto is the oldest (October 10, Year of the Ninja insert number here)…I will not be dissuaded from this. Sakura is next (March 28, Year of the Ninja the next year after Naruto is born) and Sasuke is last, (July 23, Year of the Ninja the same year as Sakura) Naruto is oldest (in this story) because he is a dunce and failed his exit exam three times (though he passed after the third try, of course), next is Sakura, making both Naruto and Sakura 13 at the time of their graduation, and Sasuke is the youngest because he is an Uchiha genius ninja. 2) The gang graduated the academy…oh, I'm thinking May-ish (if anyone knows exactly when this actually occurred, please inform me and I will adjust), that being said, I thought it would be weird if Sasuke was the oldest, since he is a genius, and Naruto is a failure.

Well, all that and it works best with the way I'm laying out my story.

Obito is, at the time of my story (I'm going to say), 27 years old. (if anyone knows his birthday, or how old he really was during that part of the manga, please let me know where I can find that information. It would be very valuable to me!) In my story, Obito was older than Kakashi (Who is now dead, but would have been 26, had he been alive) when he killed him. ((((Hey! Stop giving stuff away!)))) Shut up.

If Itachi is supposed to 17/18 when the he appears in the manga for the first time, that would put him at about 14 or 15 when he murdered his clan. It was my guess that it had been a couple of years since the massacre , putting Sasuke at about 9/10-ish when I mention it in this story.

I know I'm being anal (((snicker…anal…))) about this but it is one of the factors that I considered as I was laying out this storyline, without it, there would be chaos.

Really, if you think about it…it makes what I'm saying when I talk about the massacre and what Itachi did to Sasuke with Mangekyou (in my story of course) all the more fucked up. Imagine you are like nine or ten years old and all that shit happened to you…that's where I get my inspiration on the characters personalities. I'm just borrowing certain personality traits and plot points from Kishimoto San to create, hopefully, something unique. Whew! Sorry, I had to get that out of my system. I hope I didn't piss anyone off by adding this, I think I just wanted to say that for clarification purposes.

And also, I about had a fucking seizure when I saw ep 130 and Sasuke said all that shit to Naruto about being able to see which is the real one out of his Kage Bunshin! NO! DAMN IT! THAT WASN'T IN THE MANGA! WAS IT? (((I'm sure it wasn't because we checked that whole part like twice!))) I know! Kakashi can't even tell a shadow clone from the real one! That's fucking bullshit! I only care because it totally fuck's up "…That Day…" WTF? (((They are totally rearranging that fight!))) Sigh… and also: in the inane translation of the manga in chapter 222, Itachi tells the MP corps, "That is a pity…I see…I hadn't seen him lately but…I loved him like a real brother." when they notify him of Shisui's "suicide/drowning". That is the line that I used in my story. Not the shit they said in the friggin' cheatin' ass anime! (((You still love it though.))) Yeah, I know, it just pisses me off. The extra scenes were a nice tie-in though, not much talking, so they don't have to alter the story…but how many times can one sit through Sasuke shouting "Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" without wanting to absolutely smash and break him for being a total DICK in the present? I'm just loving torturing his little bitch ass right now. (((((Revenge for Naruto! YAY! No revenge for punk ass Sasuke! OBITO SAMA!)))) Being a manipulative bitch has its perks sometimes. d(-)b

Don't even get me started with Episode 131. WHERE THE FUCK WAS ALL THE MASSICRING? DAMNED STUPID CENSORSHIP!


	9. When They Became Genin Part 5

blazer-6

2005-03-03

ch 1, signed Interesting storyline. I hope u do some Sasuke bashing I hate the prick.

* * *

This was my very first review ever! (smiles and bats eyes sweetly) (snicker's to self) I hope I've succeeded in making this request come true…and at such a convenient time too! ((((D.U. just loves making people happy!))) OMG! (((What?))) Episode 133… (((OMG!))) Hahahah! WTF? (((I know!))) Sasuke, instead of transforming into a super saiyan, has become…a… (((MWAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!))) …a… kukukukukukukuku (((KUKUKUKUKUKUKU!))) …oh my gosh…kukukuku …I can't bring myself to say it… (((…A flat chested woman?))) (clutches belly and falls over) 

Oh anyway…yeah…MOVING ON THEN!

**!FIRST OFF: DO NOT PROCEDE UNLESS YOU'VE READ THE "NEW ENDING" TO CHAPTER 8! YOU WILL HAVE NO CLUE WHAT IS GOING ON!** Um…yeah…if you didn't catch the Ita/Shi/Sas shit with the stabbing and the bleeding and the …OH! Sorry, …yeah…um read it… Also, I went back and fixed some errors that I found in the last chapter…cuz I was a little…um…intoxicated…when I wrote it…spring break and all…sorry… (((Yeah, she's been working on this chapter THAT LONG! Hurry up you dumb bitch!))) Shut up! This chapter is going to kick ass! You think I didn't want to post it sooner? I've been peeing myself with anticipation! Oh yeah, this is a really long chapter, so lot's of author notes…sorry…

WARNINGS: (I hate this part...so troublesome.) Kind of an angsty chapter. Some naughtiness… a 'hint of' LIME, WAFF ((((That just SOUNDS stupid.)))) Big time UST. Suiside? OMG! (((What's gunna happen?))) Oh yeah…there is another OC…this one has no dialogue though…heehee. (((It's a BIRD!))) No. It's a plane. (((Crap! you forgot about the other one!))) Crap. Okay, sigh Sakura's mother is in here too. Does she even count? (((snicker Mary Sue…slaps forehead))) YEAH RIGHT! She's like Charlie Brown's parents! (((Wa Wa WA wa wa WA WA wa))) You never even see her on the show. She exits only as a voice from another room! (((Not in this story, she's really there!))) Shounin ai? (((KUKUKUKUKUKUKU!))) (evil grin)

(((Hey! What about fluffy?))) I got bitched at for saying "fluffy" before, in "TEASE". I'm not even gunna claim that one, since I don't seem to know what it is… (((Oh, okay just checking…Hey but what about the Sasu/Naru Naru/Sasupart?))) I don't think that would be considered fluffy…maybe I'm wrong…I don't know… (((MAN, I NEED SOME ACTION!)))

SPOILERS: I'm just gunna say this: if it's spoiled, well, feel free to let me know, and then, if you care that much, go ahead and write me a new spoiler section, cuz my head is too full to care about a thing like that now. (smoochies!)

NOTES: All my words and translations come from either a Japanese/English dictionary, or my book on slang…I know almost NOTHING about Japanese grammar, as I only had one 9 week class in Japanese before having to quit for my new school (((Animation is fucking troublesome!)))…so here goes my translations:

"kuroi" "black" (as in, the color)… "maru" a popular ending to a boy's name. i.e.—Orochimaru, Akamaru, Konohamaru, you get the idea…(sigh) "Kono Ha" "This Blade" (the grammar is probably wrong, I KNOW, but I couldn't resist. It fit so perfectly! You'll see.) "tsunami" duh…A huge friggin' tidal wave…or whatever…

**Quoted from last chapter** _"It wasn't a single spiral. It was nine separate lines that pin wheeled out from a circular center."_ This has relevance later.

ENOUGHOF MY IDIOT BABBLING…ON WITH THE FRIGGIN' STORY! (((DAMN IT! ABOUT FRIGGIN' TIME!)))

Last time, Obito had forgotten something very important, Naruto and Sakura were in a bit of an awkward position, and Sasuke was about to die. Have fun! This chapter is getting over 20,000 words! Hope it was worth the wait!

"If it went this way… I wonder what would have happened that day… when they became Genin."

* * *

When They Became Genin: The Ninth Tale

* * *

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous! Where did I put that damned thing?" Obito wandered through each of the many rooms of his new 'home', searching for the item he'd somehow unfortunately misplaced. He was getting terribly frustrated. He HATED getting off track! He had something he HAD to do, but he was stuck! He yanked at the thick spiky plumes that were his hair. "WHERE THE HELL IS IT!" _'Okay, I had it last night. Retrace your steps. Hmmm…I followed Sasuke and Naruto to the old smithy shop… spied on them from the tree outside…fell asleep…woke up…came here…Sake…wait…' _Suddenly, something occurred to him. He bit into his thumb and pressed his hand to the floor. "Kuchiyose no Justu!" 

In a loud puff of smoke, a large black bird appeared with its wings spread, and its head bowed to its master, it cocked his head to the side and squawked as if bothered, then hopped up and perched on its master's outstretched arm.

Obito held the bird before him and looked into its small dark eyes. "Kuroimaru, was I wearing my jacket when I summoned you last night? Did you see it?"

* * *

Naruto still had his eyes closed, lost in concentration. Out of nowhere, he felt soft, gentle, fingers faintly brush the area just below his belly button. It tickled. A LOT. He didn't tremble, or burst into giggles though. It just made him wake up, and take notice of what was happening right in front of him. His eyes slid open just barely. He let his hands fall to his sides. The girl didn't even notice. She was lost in her own little world. A pair of demon eyes peered down at her. Naruto's lips twisted into a smile. Right then, he thought if he wanted her, he could have her. He loved that feeling. Control. He closed his eyes again. There was no longer any need for concentration or focus. The demon had already surfaced. It had perfect control.

* * *

"Aw crap! That's right! I used it as a pillow! Thanks Kuroimaru! KAI!" The bird was released from it's summon and vanished in the same way it had arrived, except, even for a bird, it looked a little irritated by it's master. Obito wasted no time. He teleported back to the area in front of the ahem Kono Ha Smithy Shop and hopped up into the tree that grew next to the building. He felt like a total jack ass. There it was! Right there! It was still hanging from the branch he was sitting in while he was watching over Naruto last night, waiting for him to wake up. He mentally smacked himself and crouched down to pick it up. 

Having retrieved what he came for, he was about to teleport back to Naruto's apartment, but when he glanced up after slipping the jacket on, he noticed something peculiar. The door to Sasuke's bedroom had been left open. He could see through it to the main room. He squinted to see it better. Sasuke wasn't asleep, he was sitting up now. Obito leaned forward as if the extra couple of inches would help him see the scene more clearly. Red…on white…? A tiny hint of dread set in. "Aw, what the hell!" He teleported into the room to see what the problem was. This did not look good at all. He suddenly became extraordinarily pissed off. He did NOT want to have to deliver the remains of another dead Uchiha to his Hokage. "You little bastard!" He grumbled under his breath. "You told me you weren't going to kill yourself! AND I BELIEVED YOU!" Obito reached out, grabbed Sasuke by the collar of his shirt, and smacked the boy hard in the face. Sasuke coughed and started mumbling something to him. _'Good.'_ He wasn't dead yet.

"…wasn't trying…hit an artery…too much blood…too fast…" Sasuke struggled to make his eyes focus. His head bobbed limply at either side.

"Hey!" Obito smacked him again, but not as hard. He gripped Sasuke's jaw to steady his head. "Listen to me. Eat this." He reached into one of his many pockets and produced a small white pill. "It's a blood clotting pill." He jammed it into the boy's mouth. Sasuke nearly choked on it. "CHEW IT!"

Sasuke did as best as he could and then he swallowed it. He felt himself being lowered back down slowly and Obito released his grip on his shirt. He lay slack on the futon, gazing up at his new teacher, trying very hard not to pass out. "Sensei…"

"There. You shouldn't die now. I'm not going to heal that for you though. You did that to yourself. Fix it yourself." Obito peered down at his young relative, without an ounce of compassion on his face. "You saw my jutsu earlier. You had your Sharingan out, watching me; now's the time to see if you can actually use it. Pretend this is combat. Your comrades are with you. You've just been injured heavily, but one of your comrades is in danger." Obito paused, thinking. "Naruto has taken serious damage as well. Only Sakura is left to defend herself. What do you think a True Shinobi would do in that situation?"

* * *

"I like to watch." 

Sakura flinched at the voice and jerked her hand away from Naruto's stomach. She blinked a couple of times and looked up at him. His eyes were barely open, and they were that weird dark blue again. The pupils were huge, and oddly shaped, not quite round. It startled her to look at them. Naruto's eyes widened a bit, and when the light from the room hit them, they contracted slightly, allowing her recognize the peculiar shape fully. _'Like a cat...'_ "Wha…?"

"People, I mean. I follow them around and watch them…to see how they behave. That's how I got so good at Henge no Jutsu." Naruto's face changed, as if he was curious about something. "Even still, don't you think that was a little out of character for Sasuke to do? Has he ever behaved that way around you before?" Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. She grabbed his hips and shoved him hard, causing him to fall back on his ass.

"Heghheghhegh." Naruto remained seated on the floor. He crossed his legs and grabbed his feet, then looked up at her grinning. She was pouting. "Are you really that mad at me?"

Sakura prayed that her cheeks weren't burning red. "Yes."

That one word contained more venom and spite than Naruto had ever heard anyone express to him, even in a full sentence! That said a lot, considering who he was, after all. "Aw, come on, it wasn't THAT bad was it?" His eyes got wide and a genuine smile danced across his features. "I liked it…a lot. You're good at it." He felt himself blush slightly at his own words. "You liked it too." He smirked at her.

"I thought you were Sasuke! Not…"

"A filthy, bastard, monster?"

"That's NOT what I meant!"

"But that's what you said." Naruto grinned up at Sakura. "Don't worry about it. Sticks and stones, right? They're just words…even though…coming from you…they do tend to sting a little." He winked at her.

Sakura huffed and jerked her head to the side, not wanting to have her words used against her. She knew this was an argument that she would lose, so she thought she might as well just accept defeat and end it here before she got the urge to hit him again. "I'm…sorry." She was still looking away now. Her words were full of hurt pride.

She didn't sound like she was very sorry to Naruto. His grin widened. "Are you really?" He stretched out his legs and supported himself with his arms. "You know," He paused, giving her a maniacal look, "I can be anyone you want…"

Sakura turned back to him with a confounded look on her face. _'Who the hell does he think he is?'_

Naruto smirked at her again. "…even Obito sensei."

"What? What the hell are you getting at?" Sakura demanded. Naruto moved to stand again, but as he did, his form changed. Sakura gasped. She had no idea that Naruto was so adept at using Henge no Jutsu, even after the events that happened earlier at the bench. He seemed to have mastered it completely! His form was almost flawless. He could have actually been… "Obito sensei…?"

"You like me, don't you Sakura…" Naruto approached the bewildered girl and bent down to meet eyes with her. He leaned forward and rested his hands on the cushion behind her, trapping her between his arms. She leaned back to avoid him, but he leaned in closer and whispered in her ear. "I caught you staring."

* * *

"Na…" 

"What are you waiting for? Naruto is about to be killed by enemy ninja! Sakura is injured now too! You're running out of time!" Obito was not going to sit there and fuck around with the kid. It was time for him to show what he was made of, damn it!

"Naru…to…"

"IS GOING TO DIE! YOU CAN HEAL HIM! STOP ACTING LIKE A CHILD AND SAVE YOUR COMRADES!"

Sasuke closed his eyes for a second to try to collect his weary thoughts. He wanted to help them…save them…his comrades…he was just so tired… _'…damn it…'_

"You're not the ninja I thought you were. You're just a stupid child. Trash." Obito made sure that every ounce of contempt and spite he had shown through in his voice. Sasuke didn't seem to like being taunted.

Sasuke shook his head and tried his best to focus again. He looked down at his leg. The bleeding had almost stopped, but the gash was still there. He brought his hands up, formed the seals that he saw Obito make earlier, and held them just over the damaged area. He focused everything he had left into forcing his chakra out to heal the wound but it was a difficult task. The chakra felt like liquid fire burning his hands, but that said nothing for the screaming pain he felt from his leg. "Gyaaa!" He gasped. The pain was incredible! He felt a terrible sensation as the wound slowly began to stitch itself together. He panted frantically as his vision spun again. He didn't have much left. His chakra felt like it was being sucked out at an incredible rate, no, he was pushing it out. He never realized that such a simple jutsu could drain one's reserve so quickly. "Aaagh!" He bit down on his lip and drew blood. The air that heaved in and out of his lungs didn't seem to be doing its job properly. He felt starved for oxygen, yet he was consuming it as fast as he could. Perhaps he was going into shock?

"Keep going. Don't stop until it's finished." Obito watched as the young Uchiha tried desperately to complete his task. He knew the boy couldn't hold out much longer though. He just didn't have the chakra to do it just yet. He was still too young. He noticed that Sasuke had instinctively brought out his Sharingan. "If I were you, I wouldn't try using Sharingan. It eats up your chakra and it serves no purpose for this task."

Sasuke glanced up at his sensei. He hadn't even realized his Sharingan was out. He paused to force his bloodline skill away and quickly returned to his task. It seemed slightly better, but not by much. He'd barley even begun to heal the wound. How the hell was he supposed to keep it up long enough to finish? He was so tired. He just wanted to rest. His chakra was nearly gone, and he had no idea what he was doing, yet he continued to push as hard as he could. He couldn't give up yet. He wasn't going to lose, damn it! He…had…to…

Sasuke's body made his decision for him. His hands fell away and he slumped forward, exhausted. Obito reached his arm out caught the boy before he collapsed. "You have a strong will, but your control leaves much to be desired." He pushed Sasuke back and knelt down in front of him. "Well, at least you gave it your all." He grinned up at the unconscious heap that was Sasuke. "Too bad, this time you and your comrades are dead." He rubbed his hands together and mentally prepared himself for his new task. "There's always next time." He chuckled at the irony in those words. "I guess I can lend you a hand, since I can't have you all damaged for tomorrow." Obito brought up his hands, laid them over the wound, and got to work fixing his unfortunate relative's little injury.

* * *

Sakura suddenly felt much warmer than she had a second ago. She had to force herself to project a cool and uncaring attitude. That was easier said than done, considering there was a demon disguised as her 'oh so terribly sexy' instructor, currently licking and sucking at her ear. It sent currents of electric heat straight down her spine and made her want to gasp. But she WOULD NOT let that happen! "It's not…right." 

"Hnnn...Why's that…Sakura?" Naruto spoke softly into her ear, but didn't stop with his teasing. The sweet smell of her hair was doing it's best to make him go all funny in the head. OH the thoughts he was having right then. He was even okay with pretending to be someone else, as long as it made that horrible girl squirm. He wanted to make her crazy…like he felt. It was loads of fun trying. He wanted so badly to wrap his…'sensei's'…arms around her and continue where they'd left off before they were so rudely interrupted earlier. He would have to remember to slap Sasuke for that later. _'Damn Bastard…ruining all my fun. HMPH!'_

Aside from his mouth, and the tip of his nose, Naruto hadn't touched Sakura at all. Yeah, he held her there, between his arms, but he was much bigger now than he really was, so it was easy for him to avoid any other contact. Sakura mentally slapped herself for even THINKING about that fact! _'Stupid NARUTO and his stupid GAMES! HE'S DOING THIS ON PURPOSE! FUCKING JERK!' _Sakura lifted her hand and gently traced her finger on Naruto's neck, across the area just under his right ear. She felt him inhale sharply at the touch, but his musings persisted. Sakura smiled evilly to herself. "Right here…" She tapped the spot lightly. Naruto immediately traced his tongue down to that same area on Sakura. He kissed it and nipped gently at the flesh with his teeth. Sakura gasped. She sounded way more excited than she had earlier and not nervous at all. "Mmmmm…" She let out a little laugh. "Mmm…Naruto…you…" She laughed again. "You're…so…stupid…"

"…But you like me…" Naruto replied smugly.

"…Obito sensei…" She paused to breathe. Still resting her hand on his neck, she brought her other one up to his chest and pushed him back just slightly. He complied. Sakura looked into his fake black eyes and smiled the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen. "Obito sensei…has a mark right here." She tapped the spot she'd seen the mark when she'd been ogling him earlier. Her beautiful smile turned into a triumphantly wicked grin. "Looks like you should have been paying closer attention." She giggled.

Naruto's eyes got large. His mouth dropped open into a disbelieving smile. "OH! Ooooh…YOU…!" he growled and gritted his teeth, and then shook his head and laughed pathetically to himself. "All right. Fine." He pushed himself away and stood up. "I see how you are."

His illusion vanished before Sakura's eyes. He stood before her, still shirtless, and still quite a bit worked up from their little…game. Sakura laughed. "That's what you get for being a jerk!"

"Whatever." He shrugged and bent down to collect his shirt from its place on the floor, pulled it over his head, and glanced at the horrible girl once more. He sighed and walked off as if he didn't even care and plopped down on his bed. He reached his hand under the mattress, pulled out a magazine, and flipped through it, ignoring her.

Sakura was mad now. She wanted him to yell at her so she could yell at him some more! _'DAMN IT!'_ Why was he able to get under her skin so easily? God she hated him! She turned to him from her place on the 'couch'. Her eyes widened when she saw what 'the idiot' was now doing to occupy himself. "YOU'RE GOING TO LOOK AT PORN NOW? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? YOU'RE DISGUSTING!"

Naruto peeked a squinted eye out from behind the centerfold and regarded his annoying guest. "Um…excuse me…but…this isn't porn. It's smut. There's a difference." He flipped the magazine around to prove his point and then raised an eyebrow at the blushing girl that was glaring at him. "I'm not getting off on it Sakura. This is research. You know…attention to detail."

Sakura's eyes met with the image of a pretty blond girl in pigtails and a skimpy bathing suit. She looked naughty. "So that's where you learned to do that stupid Orioke no Jutsu. Pig."

"Wow that's a new one!" Naruto sat up and laid his magazine aside. "I thought you saved that one special for that bitch, Ino."

"Don't you talk about Ino like that!"

"Why not? You do it all the time!"

"That's different!"

"Why is it different? Because I don't like her?"

"No! Because you're stupid and I said so!"

"Sasuke is allowed to call her a bitch."

"SASUKE is allowed to do what ever he wants!"

Naruto laughed at that. "Yeah. I noticed." He winked at her.

"I HATE YOU!"

"Whatever." Naruto retuned to his 'research' and continued ignoring her. _'Where the hell is Obito sensei? I don't know how much more of this I can take!'_

* * *

Sasuke felt wet…and cold. Was it raining? He felt cold droplets almost pouring down on him from above. _'What happened…just now…where…?'_ How did he end up like this? His eyes flickered open. The first thing he noticed was the red tinted water that was pooling beneath him. He followed its path with his eyes. It ran across the white surface of the floor and swirled its way down the drain. Reality crept up on him. He jerked to attention. _'Shower?...What?'_

"Oh look! You're awake! How nice." Obito was sitting hunched over in the corner of the room, with his hands folded neatly in his lap.

"Sensei…?" Sasuke blinked at him questioningly.

"I went ahead and fixed it for you…since you tried so hard." Obito stood and approached his student.

Sasuke paused, thought for a second, and then looked down at his leg. He stretched the hole that his kunai had made in his shorts and checked the area. It looked pristine. There was nothing but a smooth white scar. Sasuke bit his lip and sat with his head lowered for a moment. His tongue fondled the sore that was left on his lip from earlier when he'd almost bit clean though it. It was the same place that had split open when Sakura pushed Naruto into him that morning. It was still sore. The freezing water still rained down on him, plastering his hair to his face. "…Thank you…"

"So you're glad you're not dead?"

The fact that he was freezing dawned on him. Suddenly Sasuke felt his whole body shaking. He wrapped his arms around himself in a feeble attempt at getting some warmth. "I didn't say that." His teeth chattered as he spoke. He hated the way it sounded.

Obito sighed and shook his head. He grabbed a towel, knelt down next to Sasuke, and reached over to turn off the shower. "Sorry, but, I had to wake you." He unfolded the towel. "Here." He wrapped it around Sasuke's shoulders and helped him stand. "Go put some fresh clothes on. We need to get going."

"Going?" He was still chattering, but he was trying his best not to.

"What, you think I'd leave you here by yourself after all that? Heh! Not a chance. I don't trust you."

"Where?" He sounded exhausted.

"I'm supposed to be meeting with Naruto. He's probably mad that I haven't shown up there yet. So hurry up."

"Whatever." Sasuke exited the bathroom, headed to his room, and shut the door behind him. He rid himself of his soggy attire quickly and tied the towel around his waist. He dug in his closet for something warm to put on. He was still chilled to the bone. He figured it was probably more from the blood loss than the ice cold shower he'd been given. He looked down at his arm, and the scars that nearly ran the length of it. He sighed and shook his head. He decided to just give up…and pray to whatever kind of being would listen to him that he wouldn't have to do that to himself anymore. It made him sick just thinking about it. He should be dead right now. But he wasn't. Now what was he supposed to do?

There was a knock at the door. "Hey! You're not cutting yourself in there are you?" Obito was trying his best to lighten the mood. He wasn't really good at that sort of thing.

Sasuke shook himself out of his daze and continued rummaging through his closet. "No."

"Hurry up then. We have business to attend to."

Sasuke didn't reply. He pulled out a long sleeved black shirt and a pair of plain black pants from his closet and tossed them on the bed. He turned back instinctively for weapons. While he was examining his stash for what he wanted, his sensei again beat on the door. "Fuck off for a minute!"

"Don't get smart with me little kid! Just get your shit and let's go!"

Sasuke sighed to himself and dressed quickly. Then slid open the door and entered the main room. His expression had returned to normal now. That is, until he saw the huge dark stain on the futon. It looked as if someone had been murdered in that spot! _"I should be dead right now."_ He squirmed under his flesh.

"About damn time! What were you doing in there? Jerking off?"

Sasuke scowled at Obito. "Not quite, asshole."

"Well you do seem to have a 'hard on' for death. How did it feel?"

"Is that supposed to be a joke?" Sasuke asked flatly.

"Absolutely not. I'd say about thirty more seconds. Half a minute longer and I wouldn't have been able to save you. Was it…" Obito grinned at Sasuke. "…what you expected?"

"I don't get off on it."

"Then stop doing it. It's that simple."

"What the fuck do you know?"

"A hell of a lot more than you, you arrogant little prick."

"Fuck you."

"Hn! At least you're back to normal."

"I thought you wanted to leave?"

"Let's go!" Obito stepped behind Sasuke, grabbed him by his shoulder, and pulled him close. He wrapped his arm across the boy's chest and formed the seals for his jutsu with his other hand. The pair vanished in a puff of smoke.

* * *

"Why do you always have to be like this?" 

"Like what?"

"You're a total fucking jerk!"

"Um…excuse me…wait…did you just say that **I** was a jerk?"

"YES!"

"How…can you…even SAY that to me?"

"Just like I just did! JERK!"

"Who the FUCK do you think you're talking to?"

"You're the only one here! Jerk!"

* * *

Obito stood outside the door with his unfortunate relative. He reached for the handle, but paused when he heard the shouting behind the door. Sasuke shook himself free from Obito and stepped away from him with an irritated look on his face.

* * *

"What the FUCK did I EVER do to you except try to be fucking NICE?" 

"OH! Let's see…HMMM…YOU PRETENDED TO BE SASUKE AND TRIED TO FUCKING MOLEST ME TODAY! AND THEN YOU TRIED TO DO IT AGAIN JUST NOW…ONLY AS OUR TEACHER!"

"You were BEGGING FOR IT! WHAT THE FUCK?"

"I WAS NOT BEGGING!"

"You…are making me INSANE! What the hell do I have to do? Just PLEASE STOP BITCHING AT ME!"

"YOU'RE A FUCKING PERVERT!"

* * *

Sasuke sighed heavily. "See, I told you. He's a predator." Obito shot him a displeased look. Sasuke rested himself against the rail across from Naruto's door, still feeling petty shitty after his little 'accident'. He just wanted some fucking sleep. He tuned out the incessant bitching that was going on behind the door. He'd heard it all before, well not quite the same CONTENT, but still, it was just Naruto and Sakura bitching at each other, not like they hadn't done it a million times before. Sakura was bitching about Naruto being 'stupid' and Naruto was bitching about 'him' (that means Sasuke) being a fucking jerk. That just always seemed to be the case with those two_. 'So this is where Naruto lives huh?_' He looked around to see if he recognized the neighborhood. He'd seen this place before. He noticed a large red spiral had been painted on one of the buildings across from him. That wasn't there last time he was in the area. He wondered how Sakura even knew where Naruto lived. Had she been here before? Why would she come here? Had she noticed the spiral on his shirt too? _'…or did he bring her here…?'_

"You think we should interrupt them?" Obito chuckled back at Sasuke, who wasn't even paying attention. That was interesting. Obito noted that. "This is kind of fun. Sitting here listening to their private affairs…don't you think so?"

"Tch. Whatever."

* * *

"You're a TEASE!" 

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY? HOW DARE YOU!"

"What? You are."

* * *

Obito heard what sounded like a 'thump'. His eyes got large.

* * *

"OW! WHY'D YOU THROW THAT AT ME?" 

"DON'T YOU TRY TO ACT STUPID! YOU KNOW WHY I THREW THAT AT YOU!"

* * *

Sasuke turned back to his 'guardian'. "Are you planning on breaking that up in there anytime soon? She's going to start kicking the shit out of him." 

Obito was giggling into his hand. He glanced up at Sasuke's question and smiled lightheartedly at him. "They argue like they're married!"

"My parents never acted like that."

Obito's grin faded and he furrowed his brow. "Do you always have to be so morbid?"

"I wasn't being morbid. I was making a comment."

"Whatever little kid. Wait out here for a minute." Obito turned to knock on the door.

* * *

Sakura rushed him. She couldn't take it anymore. She needed to hit him AT LEAST ONCE! He just called her a fucking TEASE! He was the one who started this whole mess in the first place! She swung at him. Naruto saw that one coming. He knew it would happen sooner or later. He didn't really feel like getting his ass kicked right then though. He'd had quite enough for today, thank you very much. He caught her punch, squeezed just a tiny bit on her fist, and got in her face. "I don't really have to let you treat me the way you do, you know." 

Sakura stared into red, demon eyes. The slit pupil extended and thinned just slightly before it widened and became circular again. Naruto glanced over towards the door and loosened his grip, then he let go of her and stepped away just seconds before…

There was a knock at the door. "It's not locked," Naruto said absently, in a calm voice. The knob turned and the door creaked open to reveal the man they'd been waiting for.

Sakura turned towards the door. She hadn't even had the chance to react to what Naruto had just said to her. _'His eyes…'_

"IT TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH!" Sakura and Naruto shouted simultaneously.

"Sorry," their instructor said as he stepped through the door. "I got caught up." He examined his two young students. Both looked a little…'out of sorts'. "Naruto, I told you to take Sakura home. I didn't mean yours."

"I DID take her home! She stalked me here!" He gave Sakura his very finest dirty look. "She wanted to wait for you." Naruto's eyes never left her. He glared at her as if he hoped his gaze would pierce her skin. He was in a bad mood now. "She has something to ask you."

"Sakura?" Obito blinked in confusion. "What did you want to ask me?"

"I…" She couldn't just say it now! _'Damn Naruto! Stupid!'_ She had to think fast. "I wanted you…to…talk to my parents for me!"

Obito thought it funny at first, the way her words came out, that is. He stifled a laugh, and tried his best to look serious. "About…?"

"When I tell them that I'm on a team with HIM," she pointed an angry finger at Naruto. "They're going to freak out. They'll…I don't know, but it will be bad…and I really can't deal with that right now."

Obito sighed. He should have known. _'Damned ignorant people.'_ He'd have to get creative with this one. "All right. I can do that. Leave it to me." He winked at her. He noted that she avoided looking at him and chuckled in his head. He'd have to ask Naruto about that little piece of information he'd overheard. There was a long uncomfortable pause. The tension in the air was so thick he thought he would choke on it. "…All right then! Um, okay, Sakura, why don't you wait outside for me, for a minute? Naruto and I have something to discuss. Then I'll take you home and talk to them, is that okay?"

Sakura nodded politely to her teacher and headed for the door. She glanced back at Naruto on her way out and shot him an angry look. Naruto noticed something else too, something hidden…hurt? He shook his head and turned to the man who was supposed to be his 'guardian' just as the door clicked closed behind her. He took in a deep breath and let out a long exhausted sigh.

* * *

Sakura stepped outside and looked around for a minute. The second floor walkway provided a nice view. She rested her arms on the railing and stared out across the quiet streets of the neighborhood, lost in her thoughts. A couple of people were wandering about below her. _'Common civilians,' _she thought to herself. They laughed and chatted casually amongst themselves. She took notice and sighed when she heard one of them mention the mysterious Uchiha who had bested the traitor a few days ago. It reminded her of the fact that her life was changing so quickly. She felt the terrible pressure to keep up with it's pace press just a tiny bit harder. How was she ever going to deal with it? In the middle of trying to answer that question to herself, she heard a rustling behind her and turned, startled at what she found. 

Sasuke was crouched down next to the door, his form half hidden in the shadows cast by the evening's failing light. He'd noticed her come out of course, but when he realized she hadn't seen him, he decided to just be still, and let a quiet moment pass between them before he made himself known. He found himself unable to process his thoughts and stared vacantly at her silhouette, watching her gaze drearily down at the randomly passing villagers. His mind wandered back to when he'd first been introduced to her, he'd noticed her before that though, of course. How could he not? She really was quite pretty. She always had been. _'The prettiest girl in school…' _He closed his eyes in an attempt to recapture the subtle texture of the memory. That day…he could recall it with stunning clarity. It was the same day Shisui had come to him and told him of his brother's troubles…and of the nature of their…'relationship'.

* * *

"_Sasuke, if you're done flirting with that girl, I wonder if I could speak to you for a moment?" _

"_Sh—Shisui? What?" _

"_Come on, I'll show you some shuriken tricks."_

"_Ugh...okay…hang on a sec…Well, I guess since you're okay…I'll see you later…Sakura." Sasuke quickly stood and ran to meet up with his brother's 'friend', leaving the cute, little, pink haired, girl behind. _

_Shisui turned and began walking, leading Itachi's little brother away from where prying ears might hear what he'd come to say. Sasuke caught up and fell in next to him. "She's cute."_

_Sasuke was feeling a little uncomfortable. He jammed his hands into his pockets and examined his footsteps as he walked. "She's okay I guess."_

"_Aren't you a little young to be thinking about getting a girl's attention? Boys your age are supposed to be afraid of girls." Shisui smiled over at the little boy who'd seemed so interested 'boys' last night._

"_I-I'm not afraid of girls! They're girls! They aren't strong..."_

_Shisui laughed. "Right." He reached over and ruffled the boy's hair._

_Sasuke jerked away from the touch. He frowned up at Shisui and cocked an eyebrow at him, but it soon twisted into a smirk and the boy relaxed a little. "So… what did you want to talk to me about?"_

"_I wanted to talk to you about your brother."_

"_Oh…well, if it's about last night…I won't say anything. I already promised Itachi that I wouldn't." _

"_Yes, he told me he talked to you about it. I wonder though, do you understand what you were seeing?"_

"_I um…well yeah, I guess I do. You were kissing him…but why? You and my brother…"_

"_I love him Sasuke. We love each other, very much."_

_Sasuke stared questioningly at Shisui. His eyes widened. "You…LOVE him?"_

"_Yes. Itachi is very important to me. Do you understand what I mean when I say that I love him? It isn't the same as the love that one would feel for their parents…or their siblings."_

"_No. You love him like…boys are supposed to love girls, right?"_

_Shisui smiled. "Yes. I do."_

"_But…why?"_

"_Sometimes, it seems, you do not get to choose the ones you love. It simply happens, and you decide to either deny yourself those feelings, or to accept them. Itachi and I have accepted our feelings." _

"_So…he loves you back…"_

"_Yes, I believe he does. Does that upset you?"_

"_Well, no… It's just… You and Itachi… are really close… He always ignores me…and I'm his brother!"_

"_That's a part of what I wanted to talk to you about Sasuke. I know how much you desire Itachi's attention, and I know that he doesn't spend much time with you, but you must understand the difference between yourself and him. He looks at you and he sees all the things he wishes he had for himself. It upsets him."_

"_Wh-what do you mean?"_

"_You see, because Itachi is different…powerful…people have certain expectations of him. Because of his position in the family, he must constantly maintain a level of quality that befits those expectations. He is the future of our clan. You on the other hand, have been gifted with an easy existence. Sometimes, he begrudges you that."_

"_You mean…he's mad at me…because I'm not like him?"_

"_No, no. That isn't it. He simply envies that you are allowed to be a carefree child, and he was never allowed that. His existence has always been that of one who will, one day, inherit the will of this clan. It is a very heavy burden for him to carry." _

"_Oh…"_

"_It doesn't help that your father has now entered him into a rather binding marriage contract. You know about that, don't you?"_

"_Yeah…I was with our father when he went to speak with Hyuuga Sama. My father said that it was arranged to help resolve the tension between our clans…" Sasuke bit his lip and paused, thinking about that day. "So he's upset because of…" He looked at Shisui, then looked away, recalling what he'd seen the night before, in his older brother's room._

"_He's just been under a great deal of stress recently, Sasuke. You needn't worry for him. Just let him be for right now…I'm sure he'll come around one of these days. Come on, right up here is a perfect spot to train. I hope you have more shuriken." _

* * *

Sasuke quickly stowed the memory. He didn't want to think about those things; he just wanted to be able to forget. He ran a tired hand through his hair and slid down the rest of the way into a seated position. Sakura heard the rustling, that's when she finally turned and noticed him. 

"! Sasuke? What are you doing here?"

He lifted his head from his thoughts and regarded his teammate. "Obito sensei made me come…" He leaned his head back on the wall and closed his eyes again, the need for peaceful rest bearing down on him hard.

"Oh…" There was a long pause. Sakura didn't even know what to say. She wanted to talk to him so badly earlier, but now that he was right here in front of her, she was at a loss for words.

"So, what are you doing here?" He was curious about her motives. He didn't think she'd ever be caught dead hanging around Naruto of her own free will, especially after what happened earlier. This day was chock full of surprising twists.

"I was just…um…" Sakura frantically searched her mind for something to tell her inquisitor, but was suddenly struck by a terrible feeling of embarrassment. Had he heard what they were arguing about? She gasped mentally. _'DID OBITO SENSEI HEAR? Oh my god…this is the worst day of my life.'_ She huffed and covered her face with her hands in an attempt to shield herself fromhaving to be analyzed by the person who was somehow able to see right through her no matter how much she tried to hide.

She looked so delicate and fragile right then. Sasuke felt compelled to make some kind of amends for his terrible behavior towards her. "I'm sorry about earlier…I didn't mean to go off on you like that…"

Sakura was shocked by his words. He'd never said anything even remotely like that to her…ever…or to anyone else for that matter, not since...before. "Sasuke…" Sakura suddenly recalled what she had come in search of when she wandered down the street that her loud mouthed teammate said was his own. It didn't take much to find him. She'd just asked around. She did not stalk him here! She just wanted to find out where Sasuke had been hiding himself and Naruto seemed to be the only one who knew. The pain from earlier returned to her and she had to fight back her tears. She wanted to be strong. "I'm sorry…about…I didn't know about…"

"It's all right. Don't let it bother you." He looked up at her calmly. "Look, can I…talk to you…about something…since we're both here?" His voice was soft and weary. He sounded terribly exhausted.

"Y-yeah…what is it…Sasuke?"

"I like you Sakura…"

Sakura's heart stopped beating. The ground seemed to fall out from beneath her feet. She absently griped the rail she was holding, just a bit tighter.

"You really are nice…"

She knew that there had to be more to it than that. This was something that just wouldn't ever happen. She wasn't stupid enough to allow herself to have false hopes anymore.

"But look…it's not like how you feel about me."

She knew she was right. He wouldn't ever return her feelings. She sighed, almost relieved.

"Those kinds of things…I'm not interested in them."

There was a long pause as Sakura tried to gather her senses enough to make a reply. "…Oh…I see…" It was all she could manage.

Sasuke labored with the task of pulling himself to his feet. "I just…I don't really want to have to think about that kind of stuff." He trailed off, and stepped over to fall in next to the girl he was speaking to. She looked so sad. He didn't want to hurt her feelings. He hated making people sad. She'd always been there, and was always nice to him, even when he was mean to her. He'd been doing a lot of soul searching since yesterday, and he had come to the conclusion that he wanted things to change, to get better, now that Itachi was gone. He was fumbling his way through it though. "I'd like for us to try to get along better…be friends…but that's all. Is that all right with you?"

"…Uh…I…I…"

"Please Sakura…this is hard enough for me as it is…"

"Of course Sasuke! I've always thought of you as my friend…I mean, I know you didn't…I mean…I haven't really been a very good friend to you…but…"

"That's not true." He turned and looked intently into her weary eyes.

"What…isn't true?" Sakura's voice had suddenly become quite timid as she looked into the abyss that was his eyes. They looked tired and weary and they had a slight pink tint to them. To Sakura, it looked like he'd been crying

"If there was anyone…that I could really call my friend…over these last couple of years…you'd be it. I'm sorry for being such a jerk to you…I just don't…really…like to be touched…and you…" He was stopped by the sound of her muffled sob. "Sakura?"

Sakura turned away from him. She didn't want him to have to see her that way. She couldn't help it. She'd been desperately fighting with her emotions, trying to keep them in check, but it was a hard thing for her to do. She was just stretched too thin. It had been a very hard day for her. "I'm sorry…I just…"

"Hey…ugh…don't do that. Please? I didn't mean to…"

"It's not you, it's just…I'm just…so stupid…I should have…"

"You're not stupid. You didn't do anything wrong. Don't…don't trouble yourself with me…please…I hate it."

"How can I not? I care for you so much…I just want to see you happy again! I thought I could make you happy…" She sobbed into her hands.

"Sakura…" Sasuke reached a tentative hand out and placed it on the girl's shoulder in a fumbling attempt to soothe her, and gently turned her back around to face him.

Sakura turned and reached her arms out, moving to embrace the boy that made her ache. She stopped short though and flinched, jerking her hands away and returning them to there place at her sides. She remembered what he'd just said about not wanting to be touched and she felt bad that she'd even considered it.

Sasuke felt bad. He realized what she wanted to do, but she'd stopped because of what he'd said to her. "Aw…hey…it's…okay…you can…if you want…" He waited, and mentally prepared himself for the sensation, but it never came. Sakura just stared at her feet and bit her lip; a look of anxiety marring her delicate features. "Here…" He decided that he should go to her. He stepped forward and hesitantly brought his arms up to pull her close. It felt terribly awkward. He blushed at his own trembling hands. Her body felt stiff and apprehensive at first, but after a moment, she softened and relaxed into the embrace. Her body felt warm against him. It was nice. Comfortable. He held her tighter, clinging to that warmth. He hadn't felt that kind of sensation in a very long time. He'd never even fully realized how much he'd actually missed it.

"Sasuke…you're so cold!" He was wet too. Well, his hair was anyway. She could feel him shaking slightly in her arms.

"You're warm," he breathed into her ear, "It's nice."

Sakura's arms wrapped around his waist and gripped his back. Her fingertips brushed against the texture of the fan emblem he wore. It reminded her of his tragic loss and made her feel even more horrible. She couldn't even begin to imagine what it must be like for him. "Sasuke…" Sakura snuggled her face into his shoulder. His wet hair was cold against her skin.

"Shhh…" Sasuke raised a hand to pet her hair. Its scent filled his nose and reminded him of springtime…and cherry blossoms. "Forgive me…" His voice was barely audible, but Sakura still heard his request.

"Of course, Sasuke…" she answered, "…anything for you…"

* * *

"So, I guess you're here to bitch at me too?" Naruto regarded his guest with a not so pleasant look on his face. 

"Actually, no. I was thinking you were going to bitch at me for not getting here sooner."

"Let's just skip it then. So what DO you want?"

"Well, I have something for you." Obito removed his jacket and tossed it over to Naruto.

Naruto caught it and held it up, observing it with a questioning look. "Wow. Um…"

"It's yours."

"Okay…"

"It was your mother's."

"…I see."

"You'll notice the spiral on the back of it…the Uzumaki crest."

Naruto examined the red 'whirlpool' insignia. He traced his finger around one of the curving lines. Without warning, a jumbled image flashed in his mind. _'What the hell was that?'_ He blinked, as if startled, then shook it off and looked back up at his sensei. "…I know what it is…"

"I see that." Obito was, of course, referring to the hand made one that graced the back of Naruto's tee shirt, and also the bar across the street.

"…Yeah."

"Yeah."

"So…"

"Yeah." Obito wasn't exactly sure if he should continue the conversation or wait for later when they could discuss it fully. He decided it would be more polite to at least get a few things out of the way right now. Sasuke would be fine with Sakura out there keeping an eye on him, and he really wasn't looking forward to having to break the news to Sakura's parents that she had the 'evil demon boy' on her team. Damn it, this whole situation was a pain in the ass. He prayed that things would start to work themselves out soon because he was sure not looking forward to having to watch them constantly to keep them from killing each other…or themselves. _'PAIN in the ASS.'_ He decided not to dwell on it. _'They'll work it out. Now for the task at hand…'_ "How much do you know of her? Your mother, I mean. Has the Hokage told you anything?"

"Not much. She used to live here. She worked at Ichiraku. She liked Ramen. She died giving birth to me. Her name was," Naruto paused, thinking, "…Kitsune."

Obito's eyes widened slightly. He was absolutely positive that nobody, NOBODY, knew her real name, except for himself and his now deceased grandmother. She always referred to herself as Tsunami, or Tsune for short. That little piece of information was an interesting one indeed.

"Old man Hokage told me that stuff when he dropped me off here. He never said anything about you though. So what's up with that?"

"I WAS asked to keep an eye on you…make sure you didn't get into trouble."

"Is that how it is…"

"Yeah, something like that, kid. So, I guess you want to know why I ditched you."

"If it's something you think I should know."

"After you were born, this village was nearly destroyed, and we were in fragile negotiations with our neighboring countries. We were fresh out of a long standing war that had stretched our resources way too thin as it was. Every available Jounin and Chuunin was called into active duty, including myself. Hokage Sama flatly refused my request to take you in as my own child because I was only like fifteen at that time…and of course, I was not married. He ordered you placed in the orphanage for the children who had lost both parents during the war, but said that he would allow me take you when both of us got to be a little older, and my missions would not take me away from you as often."

"I had to beg him relentlessly to let me the fuck out of that place."

"I'm sorry about that. I didn't want them to put you there, but I had no choice."

"It's nothing really. I didn't stay there that much anyway."

"I know. I used to visit you, you know. They'd call me whenever you caused too much trouble…or ran away." Obito recalled an old memory of Naruto when he was small and cute and full of energy. He'd been emergency summoned by the orphanage. It seemed as though little Naruto was no where to be found, so they'd sent him out to look for the wild, little, brat. Obito smiled to himself when he recalled the image of the Naruto curled up under a bush in the woods. When he'd finally found the boy, and picked him up to take him back to the orphanage, he noticed that the boy's face and clothes were smeared with blood. It was so cute… He'd been snuggling with the poor forest critter's mutilated carcass after he'd gutted and eaten the rest of it. Not bad for a two year old. He was certainly good at taking care of himself.

"Old man Hokage brought me here when I got accepted into the Ninja Academy. He gave me bunch of books and scrolls and said, 'Here you go, do well with them.' …He still stops in and checks on me sometimes…and yells at me when I vandalize things."

"Trying to be recognized?"

"I only like being unnoticed when I want to be. Being ignored all the time though…it gets a little frustrating after a while, you know?"

"I imagine it would. Don't worry. I'm not going to ignore you. I assure you, I am especially interested in you."

"That creeps me out a little, Mister."

"That's 'sensei' to you. Or you could just call me 'master' if you want." Obito grinned down at the small blonde terror.

Naruto laughed at that. "Hahaha! Why would I do something like that? It's you who's going to be calling me 'master' before long…or should I say 'lord'. I'm terribly patient, you know." He stretched out on his bed and got comfortable. "It'll feel quite good, I think, when the time comes."

Obito was caught completely off guard. The kid's tone, it wasn't arrogant at all. It was very sincere and confident, but nowhere near arrogance. It reminded him of old times. He smiled. "Do you remember the conversation we had when I first talked to you in that alley?"

"Yeah. You asked me if I really was a demon."

"And what did you ask me in return?"

"I asked you if you were really the demon you claimed to be."

"And what did I say to that?"

"Most definitely…" Naruto paused, considering the words. "So it's really true then?"

"That, my little friend, is forbidden to speak about, even with you."

Naruto's brow furrowed and he got a peculiar look on his face, as if he was thinking really hard. "Within an Uchiha, there lays a spirit aflame."

Obito was surprised,_ 'Where the hell did the kid hear something like that?' _His thoughts drifted back to what seemed so very long ago, when he was still a child. His father's words rang clearly in his ears. "Well…it actually goes, 'Within an Uchiha there lays a spirit aflame, burning eternally, for the fire inside an Uchiha will never cease.' It was kind of like a 'mantra' or something, for the clan. Wherever did you hear that?"

"From the only other Uchiha I ever knew…when I was little. I didn't get it though." Naruto paused again, recalling the memory. "He was just so intent on talking to me. Haha! That sounds pretty funny now."

Obito sighed and rolled his eyes. _'Oh great…now what am I gunna do! I am NOT taking that weird kid over to Sakura's house with me!' _"That reminds me…" Obito scratched his temple and grinned sheepishly down at the kid.

"What's that?"

'_It'd be best to just get it out of the way…' _"He's outside."

Naruto shot up, knowing exactly who he meant. "YOU LEFT HIM OUT THERE WITH SAKURA!"

Obito quickly reached out his hand and covered the boy's mouth to silence him. "Shhhh! Don't worry. I'm sure they're fine." After a moment, he drew his hand away, trusting that Naruto would not scream again.

"That guy's not right in the head!" Naruto continued, in a quieter but stressed tone. "He tried to kill her earlier today! If I wouldn't have been there…"

"I would have stopped him."

"What, like you stopped him from nearly killing ME yesterday?"

Obito sucked his teeth. "I knew you would be okay."

"Oh yeah, just great! I was really okay when I nearly died earlier!"

Obito laughed a little. "You weren't going to die. Your body was probably just trying to shut down to have more energy to repair the damage, itself. Look here, your 'chakra' doesn't like mine. Mine doesn't like yours either. I had to put a lot more effort into it than I would have if I was trying to heal someone else because I had to force it to want to waste its energy healing you. It's like you said, you didn't NEED me to heal it for you. Get what I'm saying?"

Naruto just huffed at him. "Gee thanks. So why the heck did you bother then?"

Obito jabbed his thumb towards the door. "I wanted to show THEM the technique in a real situation. Plus, I wanted to see how they reacted when I made them think your life was in danger." He looked down at the kid and smirked. "Both of them came to your aid, by the way."

Naruto shrugged and turned away, recalling the way he had been feeling earlier… when…

'_Did he just…blush? That's interesting.'_ Obito mentally grinned. "So, I guess you can count on them to get your back if you need it. That's a good thing, be thankful."

Naruto huffed again. "Aren't you supposed to be taking Sakura home?"

Obito thought Naruto sounded a little pissed off all of a sudden. "Yeah. I should get to that."

"Later then."

"Don't think we are done talking. I'm coming right back here when I'm done with her."

"Whatever. I had plenty of rest yesterday and last night," Naruto said sarcastically. "I suppose I can entertain some more tonight."

"Really? Then you won't mind if I leave Sasuke here?"

"CHE! I didn't say THAT!" Naruto huffed AGAIN!

"Come on, watch him for me. He needs to just sit and chill out for a while. He's had a rough couple of days."

Naruto gritted his teeth as if trying his best not to start screaming. His eye suddenly began to twitch. "…Sure. Fine. Whatever. Hurry up though. I'm not getting into another fight today. It's becoming a little irritating."

"Hahaha…It shouldn't take long."

"Go then. Get it over with."

"Right." With that Obito stepped over, opened the door, and slipped out. He peeked out first to make sure nothing funny was going on. It was a good thing he did because Sasuke was currently lying with his head in Sakura's lap and both were asleep. Naruto wouldn't have liked to have seen that. Obito sighed and bent down. He shook Sasuke awake, much to the boy's objection. "Come on. You have to get up. You can't sleep here."

Sasuke was extremely grumpy now. He had been dead asleep and perfectly content, and now he had to get up again. No. That was not cool. Not at all. Sasuke was irritated. He smacked Obito's hand away, pushed himself up, and rubbed his tired eyes.

"I have to take her home. You're staying here."

Sasuke didn't argue. He didn't have the energy to. He stood up, walked over to Naruto's door, and knocked while Obito woke up Sakura. "It's not locked!" Naruto shouted from inside. He sounded irritated too. Sasuke entered and stood by the door, eyeing Naruto, not sure what to do.

* * *

The first thing Sakura saw when she opened her eyes was the red and white fan emblem on Sasuke's shirt as it disappeared into Naruto's apartment. She was startled by being so suddenly awakened, it didn't help that it was Obito that was doing the waking. 

"Come on Sakura, let's get you home now." Obito reached for the girl's hand to help her to her feet.

Sakura jerked her hand away real fast! You couldn't really blame her. She'd been traumatized by the image of her sensei after all. _'Damned stupid Naruto!'_ She let out a sigh and shifted slightly so that she could confirm that her sensei was genuine. The mark was there. Good. Wait…Naruto knew where it was now…what if… Her face twisted into a scowl. "You're not Naruto are you?"

Obito grimaced and smacked his forehead. "No. Thank you. I'm Obito. Want me to prove it?"

Sakura continued giving him an untrusting look.

Obito stood away and made the channeling seal. "Kai!" Nothing happened, of course. There was nothing to dispel. "See? I'm genuine."

Convinced for the moment, Sakura helped HERSELF to her feet and fixed her rumpled clothing. "So, what are you going to tell them? My parents I mean."

"I have no idea. Well, maybe you could help me out with that. Come on let's walk." The pair made their way down the hall, the flight of stairs, and out into the quiet street. Their destination wasn't really very far away, just a few blocks. Obito would have to think fast. "So I'm assuming that your parents told you already about Naruto…and they don't really like him very much, is that about right?"

"They never told me about him. They just hate him. They know I was in his class, so they told me to stay away from him."

"I see." Obito sighed. They probably knew nothing about him at all. _'Stupid people.'_ "All right, so, are they both going to be home when we get there? I need to know what to prepare for."

"My mother will definitely be there…I don't know about my father though…he works late a lot."

"Okay." That was good. Obito thought it might be a little bit easier if he was just dealing with the woman. He hoped Sakura was right about her father probably not being there. _'Yeah.' _That would make it a HELL OF A LOT easier for him. It was easy to charm a woman. Men though, it seemed that they didn't particularly like him, not to mention you can't charm a woman when her man is standing right there, after all, and he didn't want to have to get into a fight.

* * *

Naruto cocked an eyebrow at his guest. The third one today! It must have been an extra special day! Naruto's cheerful façade had long since gone the way of the Uchiha clan, however. Like them, he had about two fragile nerves left, and was almost HOPING that the Bastard would pick a fight with him. He was really feeling like he wanted to smash and break something. "You look like shit." 

"I imagine I do. I feel much worse than I look though." Sasuke gave him a fake 'cheerful' smile, crossed the room, and collapsed onto Naruto's 'couch' with a loud sigh.

He really did look like shit. His hair was all snarled and tangled and…wet? He was wearing some 'get up' that Naruto thought Obito would be more likely be seen wearing, and he didn't even have shoes on, let alone the fact that it looked like he wasn't carrying any weapons! "Make yourself at home." Naruto was being sarcastic of course.

"I will. Thanks. Then we can call it even." Sasuke immediately began fluffing up a lumpy spot to lay his head on, still mad that he'd been forced to get up in the first place. Sakura's thigh had been more comfortable than he would have ever believed, had he not experienced it for himself. He suddenly wished he had it with him for a pillow more often. The gentle fingers that ran through the tangles of his damp hair and caressed his scalp were a nice touch too. He didn't suppose he could convince the Dead Last to do that for him. It really didn't matter who did it, it was just fucking great any way you looked at it. It took all of about thirty seconds of bliss before he'd been asleep like a dead man. He could definitely go for that on a regular basis. Bah. '_Too much to ask for._' He'd settle for plain old sleep. That'd be fine.

"Even?" Naruto sounded a little offended.

Sasuke continued his 'fluffing' as he replied. "I let you crash at my place last night, and I had to stay up watching you to make sure you didn't fucking die."

"I didn't ask you to bring me there! And I certainly didn't ask you to sit there and WATCH me all night!" Again the image of Sasuke standing above him, looking down at him, in that huge bed, entered Naruto's mind. Only this time, there was a hand poised a few inches from his throat and an evil smile was twisted on his host's face. He cringed inwardly. Why? WHY did he have to think about such things?

"I didn't ask you to be stupid and nearly kill yourself…" Sasuke finally decided that Naruto's 'couch' was an acceptable amount of 'fluffy' and curled up on his side. He felt naked with out his kunai. "…but what difference does it make now? It already happened. Nothing's gunna change it. Why are we even arguing about this?" He curled his arm around his eyes to block out the light of the room.

"Shut up Bastard!"

"Gladly."

* * *

"So did you hear us?" 

"What?" Obito turned to his student, he knew what she was talking about, but he thought it best to play stupid.

"What Naruto and I were arguing about? Did you hear us?"

"Oh, well, sort of, a little bit."

"Do you know what that bastard tried to do to me?"

"Well, I have an idea…" Obito blushed slightly, trying to hold down a laugh.

"It's NOT FUNNY! He…He…He's such a fucking jerk."

She sounded a little sad. Obito felt suddenly a little bad for her. Naruto was an accomplished shape-shifter after all, and he DID have the use of Kage Bunshin now too. The worst part was he had apparently decided that she was in need of punishment for her nasty behavior. That could become a serious problem later. Sasuke's comment from earlier came back to him, _'He's a predator.'_ _'Damn it! Why? Stupid old man Hokage!'_ This was a fragile situation indeed. "Why do you hate him so much Sakura, if I might ask? I mean, besides what he did earlier, what made you decide you hated him? Other than your parent's dislike for him, that is."

"Well…" Sakura was put on the spot. She didn't really know how to answer. She looked at her feet and thought very hard about her feelings for the blonde idiot. "I don't know! He just gets on my nerves!"

"Ah. I see." Obito fell silent for a moment. He looked around and took in the scenery, allowing Sakura more time to ponder his question. The nostalgia set in again…it was threatening to ruin his mood.

* * *

A long awkward moment passed between the two rival boys. Naruto was starting to squirm. Did he just win that argument? And how weird was it that SASUKE, THE Bastard, was just sitting there sprawled out on his 'couch?' 

Sasuke didn't really care if he'd offended the Dead Last. Naruto always seemed to just shrug off his comments anyway. And how weird was it that he was sitting in the guy's apartment? He just wanted to go to sleep. He snuggled his head into one of the lumpy pillows. The smell of the fabric took his senses by surprise. It smelled…good! Sasuke closed his eyes and breathed it in. The scent was nostalgic. It reminded him of summer…and fireworks. It was soothing. Sasuke's mind began unwinding and he relaxed, dosing peacefully between random thoughts._ 'Grass…and dirt…and burning leaves…'_

Then…he thought about last night…

_

* * *

Sasuke heaved the weight of his rival onto his bed, careful not to aggravate his injury. It had finally stopped bleeding and Sasuke was thankful for that. He hurried out of the room and reappeared carrying a steaming bowl and a cloth. He laid the items on the bedside table and turned back to Naruto. His jacket sleeve had become soaked with blood. Sasuke sighed and looked down at himself. His now ripped up shirt was also covered in that blood as well. "Damn it Naruto! Why do you always have to be so difficult?" He pulled his tattered shirt up over his head and dropped it on the floor next to the bed. He'd have to remember to burn it later. 'Damn it.' He reluctantly looked back over to the unconscious boy and sighed again. _

_He drug his chair over to the edge of the bed, pulled out one of his kunai, and cut away the blue, makeshift, bandage on Naruto's upper arm. 'What a fucking idiot… Making me do all this…' He leaned over and carefully pinched his thumb and first finger on the zipper of the idiot's jacket. He ran it up along the curve of the boy's neck and back down until it had freed itself from it's other half. 'Okay, so…how should I go about doing this…?' _

_Hesitantly, he sat down on the edge of the mattress and turned to face the nearly lifeless figure in front of him. He bit his lip. His eyes narrowed as he contemplated his next course of action. He decided it would be best if he got it over with quickly, so, not allowing himself time to turn back, Sasuke closed his eyes and reached his hands out. The callous of his fingertips found the texture of the other boy's mesh shirt and slid up underneath the folds of the jacket. They snaked their way up his torso, pushing the opposing sides of the jacket apart as they went. Bracing himself, Sasuke slid his hands between Naruto's back and the mattress, lifted him slightly, and fumbled to get his right arm completely around him. Not wanting to disturb Naruto's injured arm, he leaned down all the way and gripped his hand on the other boy's neck so he could support his head as he lifted him up to remove the jacket. For apparently no reason, he mentally noted that Naruto did, in fact, have incredibly soft hair. 'How stupid…' he thought to himself. Slowly, he sat up, bringing Naruto with him. Sasuke knew that he'd have to prop Naruto up against himself if he wanted to be able to get that jacket off without a struggle. He gritted his teeth and pulled Naruto close. _

_Naruto's cheek brushed his ear, and then the other came to rest on his shoulder, much as Sasuke had tried to avoid something like that happening. Sasuke didn't like the way his skin seemed to tingle at the touch. He did not like that at all. He breathed in deeply and sighed loud. With that breath, he couldn't escape experiencing the scent of Naruto's hair. Like grass, and dirt, and sweat. _

_Sasuke was appalled at the realization that he didn't find anything about it unpleasant. That bothered him. A lot. He felt Naruto's shallow breaths as they sent rhythmic waves of warmth ghosting over the skin of his neck. It gave him goose bumps and sent shivers down his spine. He sighed again and closed his eyes. Why the heck did he take his shirt off? His heart was pounding in his chest. He'd never in his life felt so awkward. Not ever! He'd forgotten what he was doing completely! What the hell was he doing? _

_Sasuke scolded himself mentally and reached his free arm up to push the jacket down as far as he could. It was then that he noticed how heavily he was breathing. He was feeling a little… queasy. He tugged at the sleeve until Naruto's right arm was free and tried his best to get the jacket out of the way quickly. He needed Naruto to be off him. Now._

_He brought his arm up again and leaned forward, allowing Naruto's body to fall back into his hands. He felt the heat of Naruto's skin through the holes in his mesh shirt. It was warm…and nice. 'Damn it ALL!' It wasn't over yet though. Just before he'd laid the other boy back down completely, he felt what had to be, Naruto's calloused fingertips lightly brush the skin of his back He nearly panicked when he felt himself flush. Beads of sweat were threatening to form on his forehead. _

_Blue eyes slid open just barely and strained, as if in pain. "…warm…" _

_Sasuke saw the boy's lips move, but couldn't really hear the word over the internal chaos that was ensuing. 'Please do not wake up! PLEASE GOD! DO NOT LET HIM WAKE UP!' _

_Naruto's eyes closed again and his head fell to the side._

'_THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!' Sasuke praised whatever being was listening as he sat panting. That was absolutely THE most horrible thing that had ever happened to him! …Almost. What the heck had just happened just then? 'WHY?' He suddenly realized he was still sitting too close to the other boy and jumped to his feet, quickly exiting the room. _

_He paced…back and forth…and back and forth…along the length of the main room…trying to get a grip on himself. That was just too intense. 'I SHOULD HAVE JUST TAKEN HIM TO THE MOTHER FUCKING HOSPITAL! THEN NONE OF THIS WOULD BE HAPPENING! FUCK! I CAN'T DEAL WITH THIS SHIT RIGHT NOW! WHAT THE FUCK! THAT MOTHER FUCKER! GODDAMN IT!" Sasuke breathed in long slow breaths, trying to calm himself. "ITACHI YOU SICK TWISTED FUCK! I HOPE THAT GUY FUCKING RAPED YOU TO DEATH BEFORE HE CUT YOUR HEAD OFF!'_

_It went on like that for a while, though, you wouldn't have known it to look at him. Aside from a slightly furrowed brow and the fact that he was clenching his fist so tightly he was almost drawing blood, his face looked like it always did, a mix between bored and irritated. Maybe 'frustration' would have been a better word for it. _

_Forcing himself to be calm, he remembered that he still needed to complete the task of tending to Naruto's injury. Yes. That needed to be done. No turning back now. _

"_Fuck." Sasuke made his way back into the bedroom and once again examined the boy that was lying sprawled out on his bed. 'Fuck! Fuck! FUCK! WHY?' Irritated, he stepped over and began to undo the knot on the other bandage so he could have a look at what he was dealing with. 'Haven't I been through enough?' If what he was doing wasn't bad enough, he was still pissed off that he was even troubling himself with the matter. This whole situation was irritating!_

_He avoided looking at the boy and instead labored with the task of removing the bandage and cleaning the area as best he could without doing any further damage. He sopped the towel in the bowl of hot, well now it was warm, water and got to washing away the blood. Why did he try so hard to get that knife back again? It wouldn't have been half as bad if the stupid Dead Last hadn't put up such a fuss about letting him have it either! 'I was NOT really trying to kill him! DAMN IT!' Just then, Sasuke noticed the wounded tissue inside the gash looked…as if it was squirming… "It's…starting to…heal itself…like before! Holy shit!" Not being the least bit stupid, Sasuke called out his Sharingan to watch the process. That would be a very nice skill to have! _

_But alas, his Sharingan could only watch as the mist like tendrils of chakra weakly spread their way around Naruto's arm to lick at the wound. His Mirror sight couldn't even comprehend the action…let alone copy it. "What the hell…is that?"

* * *

_

"_He's not…he's not like other little boys!" _

"_This is a 'Demon Seal' Curse, isn't it?"_

"…_just promise me that you will never speak to him again Sasuke!"_

"…_I'm always alone…"_

'_Naruto…' _Sasuke's eyes shot open. Feeling suddenly uncomfortable, he decided to risk being told to 'shut up' again, and speak. "I did what you wanted."

"Egh?" Naruto didn't sound particularly interested.

"I apologized to Sakura…for being a dick to her." He recalled the look of pure hatred that Naruto had on his face when he demanded the apology from him earlier, after he'd yelled at Sakura.

"Great. Now she's probably even MORE in love with you." Naruto didn't sound pleased.

Sasuke wasn't really anticipating Naruto's reaction. He thought Naruto might have been glad that he'd done it. He thought that was what Naruto wanted him to do. "Why do you say that? I thought you'd be happy. Geez! Ungrateful!" He shifted to look at Naruto, who was now flipping through a magazine. Sasuke took notice of the way Naruto would stick his tongue out and lick his thumb occasionally to turn the page. It just seemed… peculiar…for some reason.

Naruto didn't turn from his 'research'. He just kept speaking and tried to avoid having to look at the Bastard. "Well yeah, since you WERE a total fucking DICK to her, but now that you did that, she's just going to cling to you even more, and you'll just be dick to her again…then I'll have to kick your ass."

Sasuke sat up. There was no way he was getting to sleep now. He could just feel the aggravation starting to take control. "No. I told her I wasn't interested. I think she gets it. So there, she's all yours. Good luck with that."

"Tch. Right." Naruto paused to stow his attitude. He wasn't trying to piss off the psychopath. He'd had quite enough misadventures for the day, much as he would have liked a little 'smash and break' action. He set his magazine aside and reluctantly looked at his guest. "You know, after you said all that stuff to us earlier…when I was walking Sakura home, she flipped out really bad. She was crying her eyes out for you. Do you even get that? Hearing that stuff you told us about your brother and killing yourself and shit…that hurt her really fucking bad! And you probably don't even care! How can you just treat her like that? She…she'd do anything for you! And you called HER a shallow bitch! She cares about your feelings more than she cares about her own! How is that shallow? For that matter, why, if you hate her so much, would you even apologize in the first place?"

Sasuke was taken completely off guard. He wasn't expecting to get bitched at for doing like he was told. "I don't know what you mean, Dead Last."

"You're supposed to be a genius," Naruto said as he folded his arms across his chest. "So don't play stupid with me. I'd rather you'd not have said anything at all, than just do it because I told you to…And for a fucking Justu!" He pointed an angry finger in the dark haired boy's direction. "You jerk!"

Sasuke had forgotten all about learning Shadow Replication. He didn't have a hidden agenda when he'd done that! He was just trying to make peace with them! That's what he was supposed to do wasn't it? They were a team now! They all had to get along! Naruto didn't seem interested in that, though! He was only interested in Sakura! "Dead Last, I don't really hate her!" He paused, stowing his attitude, he didn't want to end up putting his fist though the Dead Last's chest after all. It seemed like a likely thing to happen, the way he was currently feeling, even if he didn't think he was all that strong yet, he'd try his hardest if further provoked. If only he had a kunai. "I just really wanted her to stay away from me. Get it? When I say I'm not interested, I mean it. Incase you were wondering, I don't hate you either. I don't really hate anybody...except Itachi." Naruto thought he saw Sasuke's eye twitch just slightly. "I just wanted to be left alone, that's all. You've seen the way I get sometimes…" Sasuke paused, feeling as if he'd said too much. He pondered the whole situation. It was a hard thing to grasp. His life, as he knew it, had just ended, for the second time! He couldn't even think straight. He just wanted some fucking uninterrupted sleep! For some reason though, he felt compelled to say more. "Don't you ever…just get tired? …Of being alone?"

"…" Naruto lowered his head and bit his lip.

* * *

It had been so long since he'd been here…in Konoha. That feeling…of home… it started to grip him again. It was the one that held him here so long ago. He still hated it. Yeah, he had been alone for a long time now, but being here again, he felt even more so than back then. When he was away…it didn't hurt so much to think about things…his friends… his family… They were really all gone now. His precious ones. Their names ran through his mind…all the ones he'd never see again. His grandmother…his sensei…his teammates…even his clan… Everyone in the world who meant anything to him was gone. Everyone…save one. "Naruto…it seems, really likes you. It would be nice if you two could come to some kind of understanding. You could, I don't know, try to be nice to him? It would make working together a whole lot easier, don't you think?" 

"…"

When Sakura didn't reply, Obito's mind again began to wander back into the past again…

* * *

"…_I wonder what we should call him…" Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure, was standing above an unrolled bit of parchment on his old desk, in his old office. He was stroking his beard and pondering his unfortunate situation very hard. _

_Obito was shaken out of his daze and looked down at the child that now lay asleep in his arms. He managed to stow his sobbing long enough to produce an answer for the old man. "His name is Naru-to…" He sniffled and wiped his eyes. "That's…what she said…Naruto…she wanted to call him that…"_

_"Hokage Sama, we need to take the boy with us now." A nurse had appeared next to the old man. _

_"You're not taking him anywhere lady!" Obito snapped at the woman. _

_"Sir, the child needs to be examined and fed. And we need to clean him off."_

_"No."_

_"Obito, she is simply doing what is best for the child. Please comply. I assure you he will be well cared for." Sarutobi turned towards the woman, "Please see to it that the boy is brought back here immediately after you've tended to him."_

_The woman approached the young Jounin and held out her arms to receive the child. Obito grudgingly complied and delivered the boy into her arms. "Take care of him." The woman nodded and exited without another word. Obito walked over and looked down at the name that Sandaime had scrawled onto the Certificate of Birth that belonged to the aforementioned child. He was angered by what he saw. "Uzumaki… Naruto… Sandaime Sama? How could you…?"_

_"It is customary Obito, for a child to be given its mother's family name when the woman isn't married."_

_"Forgive me Sandaime Sama, but that's bullshit!"_

_"Obito, what has occurred here these past days? What do you know of these things?"_

_"Sandaime Sama, have you not seen that boy? How can you just disgrace him like that?"_

_"The disgrace, Uchiha San, would be for this village to learn that their leader, whom they loved dearly, has just died for such a scandal!"_

_"Sandaime Sama!"_

_"The child will not be given his name. And this disgrace will never be spoken of again. Is that clear? Yondaime Sama is dead and Konoha is destroyed because of that child. I will not have that name tarnished with the blood and destruction of our village. Do you take my meaning?"_

* * *

Obito suddenly felt a little sick. What the fuck was he doing here with this girl? He should be looking after those kids! _'Fuck!' _He decided to do a little genjutsu on the girl and get away from this horrible situation. Well, at least put it off for a while. He stopped walking and turned the girl to face him. He quickly formed the seals for the mesmerizing spell and cast it. Sakura never knew what hit her. Once he had the girl in a daze, he stepped back, made the seals for Kage Bunshin, and another of himself poofed into existence. "Okay, deal with Sakura's mother, but come back to me when you are done with her. I wanna be ready for it. Got it?" 

"Right. No problem. I'll handle it."

"Alright good. I'll just be going then." With that, Obito took off and released his jutsu on Sakura as he ran.

Sakura snapped out of it immediately. "Obito sensei? What?"

Kage Obito went with it. "Oh! You have something in your hair." He reached out and pretended to grab at the something that was supposedly in her hair. "Is that a…a ramen noodle?"

Sakura flipped out. "WHAT? There WAS NOT a RAMEN NOODLE in MY HAIR! YOU FUCKING JERK!"

"Now, now, Sakura calm down! Why are you getting so angry? You didn't do anything with him did you?"

"What? NO! OF COURSE NOT! HEY! YOU'RE NOT NARUTO ARE YOU? YOU ARE! AREN'T YOU!"

"NO! Lower your voice please! We are in public! Remember the rule! You agreed to it!"

"Do you have any idea about the amount of SHIT I've been through today?"

"I'm sorry! Please don't start bitching at me!"

The fact that he'd used almost the exact words that Naruto had used earlier was the deciding factor that she'd better just shut up. She huffed and continued on her homeward journey.

Obito followed behind her for a while, but when the silence was getting a little too much to handle he decided to speak again. "It wouldn't be that hard to tell him what you feel, really. Even if you don't like him back, it would be better if he knew that." Obito faked 'intense thought' and then looked back at Sakura with a cheerful grin on his face. "You and him should sit down and talk about it! It would certainly make things easier on me! Sheesh! I can't baby sit you kids constantly after all!"

Sakura thought back to when Sasuke told her that he didn't return her feelings. It wasn't as bad as she'd imagined it would be…and they were really friends now! Well, it seemed like they might be…maybe. But he'd talked to her willingly in any case. That was good. _'And he…'_ Sakura's cheeks burned red as she thought about the sensation of actually being able to touch him. _'It was…'_ A million different 'nice' things that described it ran through her mind. It wasn't anything like with Naruto… _'DANM IT! NO! Don't think about him! NO!' _

* * *

"_Sasuke! That was great! You're so awesome!" Sakura was sitting on a fence watching him practice. He hadn't yelled at her to go away yet. That was good! Maybe he was coming around! Okay, so he hadn't spoken to her either, but maybe, if she was patient…_

"_Che! He ain't that great." Sakura sighed at the voice coming from behind her. She hadn't noticed HIM standing there._

"_Naruto. Go away." _

"_This is a public training area. I have every right to stand here."_

"_Yeah well you're invading MY space! Now leave before I have to get down and beat your face in!"_

"_Why do you waste your time on that guy?" Naruto jabbed a thumb in Sasuke's direction._

"_Because he's not a loser like you?"_

"_Ha! He ain't THAT good! Look! He can only hit it like that if he's standing right in that spot!" _

"_Shut up Naruto! Don't talk like that about Sasuke! You're just jealous because he's so good! AND YOU'RE A LOSER!"_

"_I could DO that TOO if I stood there aiming at it every day!" Suddenly, out of nowhere, a kunai grazed Naruto's face and stuck in the tree that was behind him. It startled him. He turned towards the direction it had come from. _

_Sasuke had changed positions, he smirked and closed his eyes while reaching into his weapons pouch, then he let a barrage of shuriken fly directly at Naruto. All of them just missed and stuck in the tree… in the outline of the blonde's silhouette. __"You need to be aiming for it every day, not me." _

_Naruto huffed and gave him the finger. "Hey! Fuck YOU! Bastard!"_

"_Ha ha! I guess he showed you! Loser!"_

_Naruto was about to snap something back at her, but a voice stopped him. "Heeey Narutooo…" the voice drawled out, " Choji and I are going to ditch class…wanna come?"_

_Naruto turned to regard the 'inseparable pair' that was Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi. Shikamaru was the 'lazy ass' and Choji was the 'fat ass'. They made the perfect couple. "What you decided to go somewhere else to sleep today INSTEAD of class? Lazy ass."_

"_Yeah! Go with them! Get out of here and leave me and Sasuke alone!"_

_Naruto sighed and turned back to Sakura, the tiniest bit of annoyance shown on his face. "Sakura, why don't you come and find me when you realize that guy's a jerk and you want someone to treat you the way you deserve. Bye." _

_With that, Naruto headed off in the direction of his 'delinquent buddies', probably to go vandalize something. Sakura completely disregarded his comment. She turned her attention back to her 'crush', only to find herself alone. Sasuke had run off again. 'That jerk.' _

* * *

Maybe Naruto wasn't really all that stupid after all. Maybe he really did want her to be happy. Maybe he…maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she… "Oh! That's my house right there!" 

Obito sighed. "Alright, here's the plan. When we get there, you introduce me to your mother, then go away and let me talk to her alone. Got that?"

"Um…sure…I guess."

"Oh yeah, one last thing, how old is she?"

"Why do want to know that sensei?"

"Just because. Now be a good girl and tell me."

"She's…in her thirties…"

"Early or late?"

"What?"

"Early or late thirties?"

"Why is that important?"

"It just is! Now come on! I wanna get this over with!"

"Late! Geez!"

"Okay then. I'm ready, let's go."

* * *

Sasuke's question nagged at Naruto. Hurt him. "Yeah." Naruto didn't necessarily care all that much that he didn't have any parents, but being shunned by everyone all the time…that was the awful part. Being alone in the world was okay, but the loneliness… 

"You know, I always wanted to talk to you…"

Naruto's eyes got large, as if he was truly stunned. "To me? Why?"

"I don't know…" Sasuke yawned and leaned forward, stretching. He rested his elbows on his knees and held his head up with his hands. His damp hair spilled into his face and masked his expression. He continued speaking while he gazed absently at the floor. "I guess I just wanted to talk to someone who might understand what it's like… The loneliness, I mean."

"Oh…yeah."

Sasuke lifted his head and looked over to Naruto, who was sitting on the edge of his bed, examining his feet, and trying to avoid looking too uncomfortable. "…You were never nice to me."

"What?" Naruto's gaze fell on Sasuke. He was taken by surprise.

"You were never nice to me." It was simply stated, not whining or accusing, just spoken without feeling. "Not like I care anyway, but ever since I've known you, you've always been so…confrontational with me. That's why I never bothered trying to talk to you before. I figured you hated me." He paused, but when Naruto didn't reply, he spoke again. "That's alright though; it's probably better that way. It probably isn't a good thing for me to have friends." There was a hint of humor in those words.

"What the heck are you talking about? Are you okay? You're being really…weird…it's freaking me out!"

"Yeah. I think I'm okay…now…or maybe not. I can't really say." Sasuke laughed a little to himself. "You know, last night…I thought about killing you." A lazy smirk took over his face.

'_I KNEW IT! THAT BASTARD WAS GOING TO CHOKE ME!'_ "Oh…how nice of you to share that with me! Bastard."

"Really, it would have been so easy to just strangle you in your sleep… or cut you… or toss you in the bath and hold you under…" Sasuke was in his own little world now, chuckling to himself. He didn't notice the stabbing glare that Naruto was giving him. "I wonder if it would have worked," he questioned himself.

"And you wonder why I never liked you? You're…you…why are you saying all this to me?"

Sasuke looked back up at Naruto sharply, as if he'd just had a wonderful idea. "It's because of Sakura, isn't it?"

"What?" Naruto was so confused…

"You like her, she likes me. You don't like me because of her."

"That's NOT TRUE! I don't like you because you are a fucking nutcase who wants to kill me."

"Just admit it."

"Admit WHAT?"

"You're jealous. It's okay. She's a pretty reasonable thing to get jealous over."

"I don't even think I LIKE her anymore! How could I be jealous?" Naruto folded his hands over his chest and huffed.

"If you didn't care about her, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Naruto looked more than a little annoyed…and confused…and furious…and... "Fine, okay, maybe I WAS a little jealous…but,"

Sasuke cut him off. "Well, now you don't have to worry about that anymore. Let's just call it even. I'm tired of it. We should all work together now and get stronger, as a team."

Just who did Sasuke think he was talking to? "Che! I'm all for that, but, I figured that you would think you're too good to 'play' with me, since I'm just a fuck up, loser, dead last, and I can't even do a stupid Bunshin!"

"Yeah, I admit, I thought that before, but things are…different now. You...I don't feel that way anymore. That's why I bothered with "making nice" with Sakura. Now that that's out of the way, we should be friends." Sasuke grinned at Naruto in a way that made him look like pure evil incarnate.

Naruto was dumbstruck. What was he supposed to say? Was this some kind of sick joke? Why would Sasuke say something like that…to him? "I don't get you…you…"

"I like you Naruto."

"…"

"You make me laugh. That's a hard thing to do."

"…" Naruto thought about the couple of rare occasions when he'd been there to hear Sasuke actually laugh, both of them, by the way, were in the last couple of days and both times it had been under rather unusual circumstances…and it wasn't even really a laugh…it was more like a maniacal cackle…evil sounding…and almost scary.

"Look, I think we can help each other, that's all. I want to get stronger; you want Sakura to like you. You help me, I help you. Doesn't that sound like a reasonable offer?"

"Offer…how can you just use Sakura as bargaining piece?"

"It's not like that. Haven't you noticed? She likes to hang around me. It's a bother a lot of the time, but I don't think it would be so bad if you were there…to keep her off me. Being with her, even if it's with me, would surly give you an opportunity to make her recognize you, wouldn't it?"

Sasuke had a very valid point. "I…guess…"

"So…? Can we be friends now?"

* * *

"Mom! I'm home!" 

"Sakura! Where have you been? You missed dinner…? Sakura? Who…" Sakura's mother's eyes got large when she stepped around the corner and saw the man who accompanied her daughter.

"Oh! Hee hee. This is my new sensei." Sakura put on a nice, giddy, smile for her mother.

"Obito Uchiha, nice to meet you," he bowed deeply, "I'm sorry for keeping Sakura out so late, ma'am. We just really got into the training today…" Kage Obito smiled sweetly at Sakura's mother.

"Uchiha…" Sakura's mother was taken by surprise. Just like Kage Obito planned.

"Yeah. Uchiha…" Kage Obito cringed inwardly, "Um, anyway, I wonder if I might have a word with you…about Sakura…It's nothing bad of course. She's such a bright girl." He patted Sakura on her head and Sakura, playing along, smiled sweetly and giggled as if embarrassed.

Sakura took that as her cue to leave. "Oh my gosh! I'm so tired after all that! I think I'll take a bath and go straight to bed."

"Now don't forget, we are meeting at dawn tomorrow, for survival training, so bring all of your gear." This, Kage Obito noted, would solidify her excuse to go to bed early and not have to be there to see him work his magic on her mother. Bra-vo!

"I won't forget sensei. Good night!" She gave a little wave then ran up stairs to her bedroom and closed the door behind her. While undressing for her bath, she again fought with the images that were invading her thoughts without any sort of compassion. _'Damn stupid Naruto!'_

* * *

"You're…evil!" Naruto stood and pointed an accusing finger at his 'new best friend'. 

Sasuke smiled wickedly. "So are you, apparently. Who cares? What's it gunna be?"

Naruto smirked. It was probably going to get him into some seriously weird shit, but this was definitely sounding like interesting proposal. "Alright…" Naruto offered his hand to the other boy in an attempt as forging a fragile 'alliance'. It seemed he'd been outwitted this time. Even though it pissed him off a little to say it, he continued, "Sure…let's be friends then."

Satisfied, Sasuke grinned back at the demon boy, and shook on it, "You should know though, what my brother did to me…I may actually try to kill you again…not necessarily on purpose, but still."

Naruto jerked his hand away real fast! "Why do you always have to say things like that? It's not funny!"

"No, it's not funny, it's true though, none the less." Sasuke noted the look that Naruto gave him. It said that his statement required further explaining. He was reluctant, but what the hell, might as well let Naruto know why he was always so…unpleasant. "My brother, it seems, was trying to fashion me after himself. He wanted me to become a heartless murderer like he was, so he could test his own strength on me. See, Mangekyou Sharingan is Genjutsu used for mental torture, and he used it on me in such a way that I could 'experience' what it was like…to be him." Sasuke paused and looked away, apprehensive about saying what he wanted to say, but he really felt like he needed to get it off his chest. He wanted to be able to sleep again, like he used to, a full night, without waking up screaming or having to cut himself. Maybe talking about it really would help. "When I was little…well, not long before he did it…killed them all," He looked at Naruto as if to say 'of course' and then continued, "See…I told him…I wanted to be like him…so he…" Sasuke started laughing again. It couldn't be helped. How many people could actually say that they had the same kind of problem as him? It was just too pathetic. "…he…helped me out…he…" Sasuke paused, wrestling with the compulsion to smash and break things. "I was a little kid god damn it! What the FUCK!" Sasuke shook his head angrily, and pressed his fingers to his forehead, as if he was trying to get something out of his thoughts.

Naruto stood watching him carefully. He didn't know what to say. _'What a weird guy!'_ This was going to get interesting. "…What did he…do…to you?"

Sasuke took a couple of calming breathes and continued. "See, apparently, Itachi wanted to teach me a lesson…about lust… and about how far he was willing to go to get what he wanted…how far I would have to go… I think he really, REALLY, wanted me to get Mangekyou Sharingan, because the shit he showed me, no matter what I do, it just won't go away…"

Naruto sat down on the floor in front of Sasuke. He looked up at the other boy, compassion filling his eyes. "What exactly, did he show you? How to get that Mangekyou thingy? What did he want you to do?"

Sasuke blinked and looked down at Naruto, again surprised by the blonde's concern. He couldn't believe he was actually talking about it with someone! Let alone, the Dead Last! Should he tell him? No…No way! Not that. Never. "I'm not talking about it with you. Sorry. I just…can't." Sasuke leaned back against the cushions and let his head fall back. He stared at the ceiling for a while.

* * *

Kage Obito sat, sipping tea with Sakura's mother, trying his absolute best to look civilized and well refined. Watching his old sensei deal eloquently with hostile people had helped him out on many an occasion, but he still felt pretty tense, even though you wouldn't know it to look at him. "You know, Mrs. Haruno, your daughter has excellent potential. She really is brilliant. I can see why Hokage Sama chose her for this particular team." Obito smiled sweetly at the stunned woman sitting across from him. "I think she will do very well with the boys." _'Crap! That came out wrong!' _

"Oh? Who are the others on her team, if I might ask?" Sakura's mother wasn't a dirty minded woman; she had taken the comment the way it was meant to be heard.

'_Thank you!' _"Actually, that is the matter I wish to discuss with you. You see, the boys on Sakura's team have been given to my custody, so I would prefer to instruct them from my residence. There is ample room you see, and it would save the three of us from having to travel across town to the training grounds. What I mean to say is… I would like for Sakura to be able to spend as much time as she likes utilizing the resources I have at my disposal. There is a rather large and well stocked library, and a greenhouse that with some proper attention, could also be very helpful to your daughter."

"I'm sorry; I don't understand what you mean."

"Well, you see, the Hokage and I have discussed it, and he believes that your daughter is best suited for training in the medical field."

"A medical ninja? Is that so?"

"Absolutely yes. It seems her ability to manipulate chakra far exceeds any of her classmates. Besides that, she also has a great deal of actual combat ability. See, normal Medic-Nin are usually not the greatest fighters, so, they become a liability on team missions, but Sakura, with proper training, should be able to hold her own quite well in battle as well as act as medic. That makes her training a very high priority as far as the Hokage is concerned. That is why I have been assigned as her instructor."

"So, are you also a medical ninja?"

"Oh, well, not exactly… you see, being an Uchiha, I have the clan's bloodline skill, which allows me to copy techniques. I know of many basic healing techniques that I can teach your daughter while she is still at Genin level, though I'm sure that she will be assigned a new teacher when she becomes a Chuunin. That is, one of a higher skill level in the Healing Arts." Obito paused and sipped his tea. It was about time to quit dancing around his point. "You must be so proud of her…her teammates are the two most promising young ninja this village has seen in a long time."

"Who are they? You never mentioned it."

"Oh, well, of course I've been asked to train the young Uchiha prodigy. I'm sure you've heard of him."

"Sasuke? Really? I'm sure Sakura is just thrilled to be on the same team as him. She has quite the crush on that boy."

"Hahaha…yes."

"What about the other one? Is it one of the Hyuuga perhaps?"

"Oh, well, the other one is actually my ward. You see, before my sensei died, he asked me to personally see to it that the boy was well taken care of. You see, my sensei was Yondaime Sama. I terribly regret having to be away from him for so long…It would seem that I have shamed him by abandoning him…" Kage Obito paused as if lost in his thoughts. Only this time, he had done it on purpose. "Oh! Forgive me! I've lost track of myself. He is Naruto Uzumaki."

"…" Silence.

* * *

Naruto went over every thing that Sasuke had told them earlier at the bridge, in his mind. He wanted to say something comforting _'or something' _since they were friends now, and all. "Well…um…maybe… Well, you said that he made you see all the stuff HE did, in your head, right? And you can't stop remembering it?" 

"Yeah. That's pretty much the long and short of it."

"Well, maybe you should own it," Naruto stated simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Sasuke looked back up at Naruto with a questioning expression on his face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, I mean, make it your own. See, maybe it would be easier for you if you just accept that YOU did those things." Naruto paused. Sasuke nodded for him to keep going. "See, I killed my parents…and a whole bunch more people than your brother ever did, AND I destroyed this village... Umm…what I mean to say is… if you acted like 'Yeah, I did that, so?' well wouldn't it be easier for you to get your head around it? Really, no matter how fucked what happened was, well, I got you beat when it comes to downright death and destruction."

Sasuke stared, stunned, into Naruto's deep blue eyes. They were honest and sincere. It was weird… hearing Naruto talk like that, about what the Nine Tailed Fox did to Konoha. He'd only heard about that day in his history class. The incidents that happened leading up to it, and how the situation was resolved, was now a very NOT TALKED ABOUT subject in the village. Sasuke always did wonder why it was never really made clear exactly WHY the Demon Fox attacked the village. Hardly any information was known about it in fact. Just that Yondaime Hokage had defeated the Nine Tailed Fox and then died. The full realization of just exactly WHO he was talking to hit him. Naruto was Kyuubi no Kitsune, the fucking Nine Tailed Fox! It was a big thing to grasp. The Dead Last was a real god damned demon! No wonder his mother told him to stay away from him! He was, after all, just an innocent little boy back then. Sasuke pondered whether or not his mother was frowning down at him from where ever her soul had gone to…for making friends with 'the demon'. It didn't really matter though, he wasn't innocent anymore, there was nearly nothing left for Naruto to 'taint'. He considered 'the demon's' words carefully. Naruto had a point. Still, Sasuke wasn't quite sure yet what it was. "…I never thought about it that way."

Naruto, suddenly feeling a little bashful, shifted in his seat to avoid being analyzed by Sasuke's alarmingly dark eyes. It wasn't that he minded being stared at…but this was Sasuke! Sasuke had that way… of looking at someone… it was piercing and uncomfortable. He continued his explanation. "Yeah, I mean, people will still accept you like they always do, but your head will be different, that's all. Get it? It would be like getting away with it…or no…maybe, getting a second chance…yeah, that would be better!"

'_Getting a…second chance?'_ The words sounded good, but Sasuke wasn't sure what they meant. "So you're saying I should…pretend like I'm Itachi?"

"NO! Dumb ass! Just be yourself! See, I see it like this…I always get blamed for Kyuubi no Kitsune right? Well, I don't remember doing all that shit! But still, I did it. It was me. Naruto. The opposite could be true for you. Itachi did that right? But it's you that has to live with it, so, wouldn't it be easier to live with it if you just went about your business as if it was over with and forgiven? Well, as long as you don't start killing people…" Naruto shot him an untrusting look.

"So, I should…stop blaming myself?" Sasuke searched Naruto's face for some kind of hint that he was on the right track. Naruto smiled at him.

"Yeah! Do whatever you got to do to get over it! Who's going to say shit to you about it? Nobody will ever question you, so who care's?"

'_Get over it…'_ It sounded like a pretty reasonable thing to try to do. He hadn't actually ever considered it before. He was too caught up in wanting to murder his brother. "That's a good idea, Dead Last." Sasuke took a long breath. Obviously it was time for him to abandon his futile quest and try to have some kind of 'normal' existence, but it just seemed too good to be true. "I don't know. It's just, weird…that's all."

"Yeah, but so are you. Who's going to notice? I certainly don't care. As long as you never lay a hand on Sakura, that is."

Sasuke allowed Naruto's little insult to slide, and focused on reassuring his 'new best friend' that their 'new arrangement' was solid, and he wouldn't go back on his end of the bargain. "You don't have to worry about that. Trust me. 'Touching' her, doesn't interest me in the slightest, violently, or 'otherwise'…most of the time anyway."

"What's THAT supposed to mean?"

"Just that I'm not attracted to her, and I really don't think I ever will be. She's cute and all, I see why you swoon over her, but it…ain't my thing. And I wouldn't ever try to hurt her on purpose…I consider her a friend, but you've seen how damned annoying she can be…don't you just want to slap her sometimes? …Or set her on fire?"

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle, even though it wasn't really funny, coming from HIM anyway. Uchiha's DID have a thing about setting things on fire, after all, and he wasn't sure that Sasuke was kidding. He did agree with the whole 'wanting to slap her' thing though. She could be such a bitch sometimes! But she was fucking hot regardless. That made up for her smart mouth and insulting comments. "Just stay away from her okay? Unless you are planning to be nice…" Naruto knew that the best way to make that terrible girl happy would be for Sasuke to give her his attention…and not say anything mean. _'Damn you Sakura…making me do all of this…'_

"I still don't get why you like her so much, even though she IS cute. She's always such a bitch to you!"

"And you are always such a BITCH to her! Yet, she still likes YOU doesn't she?"

"Both of you are annoying…"

"Oh, and you AREN'T?"

"She only likes me because she likes the way I look. I would hope that YOU wouldn't be like this if that was all you liked about her…you don't seem like the kind of guy who goes through this much trouble for someone you just want to fuck. That's what I meant when I said she was shallow. You don't seem like the shallow type. That's annoying."

"HAhahahaha! What, are you trying to look out for me?"

"No. I just feel like I'm in the middle of something that I don't want any part of. I already told you that I don't have a problem with you, or with her, separately that is, but the two of you together… Look, just stop putting me in the middle of it okay? I already told you that I'm not interested in her, I told her too. There. I'm out of it. You can give it your all, but don't start blaming me for your problems with her, because I already told you what I think about her treating you like shit. Don't even bring up my name. It ain't my problem anymore."

"Hmph! Fine then."

"And stop trying to look like me to get her attention!"

"Hey! That wasn't even supposed to happen!"

"How would you like it if I Bunshin-ed into HER and tried to fuck YOU?"

"If you did that to me…I'D KILL YOU!"

"Yeah, well, that's how she feels about YOU right now, so I suggest you stop fucking around and act like a decent human being…even though you ARE a demon. And what were you doing trying to fuck her as Obito sensei? That's just wrong!"

"Hey! She had that coming! I wasn't really trying to fuck her anyway! I just wanted to piss her off!"

"GOD you're stupid! Both of you! I think I get it now. You…and her…that's just how you talk to each other, isn't it?"

"WHAT?"

"You can't carry on a conversation with out bitching at each other. HAHA! I never noticed it before! Every time you try to talk to her, she yells at you! And then you yell back…and instead of just walking away…you just keep bitching until she hits you…you exist to bitch at each other. That's too funny!"

"Just when the heck did YOU start liking HER so much?"

"It's like you said. She'd do anything for me. That isn't a bad thing, is it?"

"Well, no…but…"

"Yeah. I figure it won't be so bad, having someone like that around. Don't you think?"

"…Ug-gh…" Naruto choked on his reply.

"You want me to get her to be nice to you? I can you know. I'll bet you."

"You…"

"I'm serious. I bet you. Sakura will be nice to you. If she isn't, then I owe you, if she does, then you owe me. How about that?"

Before Naruto could reply…

There was a knock at the door.

Naruto sat staring at Sasuke, in a daze, pondering his offer, and then he snapped out of it and called out, "It's not locked," in the direction of the door.

"Open up! My hands are full!" Obito's voice called from behind the door.

Naruto shot Sasuke a questioning look. Then he stood up and swung open the door for his sensei. He wasn't lying when he said his hands were full. _'Hell yeah!'_ Naruto's opinion of Obito drastically changed in that short span of time. _'Fucking food! Yes!'_

"I bought dinner. Here grab something."

Naruto snatched a couple of bags and retreated to his spot on the floor to rummage through them. He sniffed each little white take-out box carefully._ 'Rice… some kind of meat…mmm Teryaki chicken! …some Egg rolls… Squid! mmm! …Yuck! Vegetables! Gag! …Sushi! Ahhh...so good!'_ He'd procured some chopsticks along the way and broken them open; ready to dig right in, when he found something that looked appealing. He'd been hoping for a cup of noodles, but didn't find one. Maybe it was in one of the other bags. Oh well, there was plenty of good things to choose from. All of today's rather strange occurrences were suddenly put on the back burner in favor of enjoying the mass of food in front of him. For now, he was completely happy and content.

Sasuke hadn't moved from his position on the couch. He just sat there watching Naruto go all 'ape shit' over the food that he'd been given. It was funny to watch. He examined each little box as if was a long awaited birthday gift. That thought made Sasuke frown. He looked at Obito, who had now joined Naruto on the floor, and gave him a particularly dirty look. Suddenly, the man in question held out a box towards him, and then turned to regard him fully. Sasuke didn't bother removing the scowl from his face. "What?"

"Eat something."

"Not feeling very hungry at the moment. Thanks."

"Just eat it. You need to get your strength back."

"I need to take a fucking nap. That's what I need."

"EAT IT!"

"Come on Sasuke! munchmunch This is really good! munchmunch Give it a try! I tried that 'crunchy' shit at your place this morning. munchmunchmunch" Naruto held out the box he'd been working on emptying, and offered it's remains to the irritated boy on the couch.

Sasuke reluctantly took it and poked at it a couple of times with the chopsticks. He decided he could probably stomach a bite of something since he hadn't had anything since the cereal he had for breakfast. He grudgingly slid onto the floor and worked on polishing it off.

Obito gawked at him for a minute and then decided it would be better to just sit there and focus on eating his food. Yeah. That would be better. _'He sure has gotten pretty friendly with Naruto all of a sudden. I wonder what they've been doing here…' _

The three sat in silence around the pile of food that graced Naruto's floor. No one spoke. Naruto stuffed his face as if he'd never eaten before, Obito brooded about the past in his head, and Sasuke, well… I guess he was brooding too…if you wanted to call it that. What were they supposed to talk about? It seemed like every subject they had in common would start some kind of argument, and this needed to be a peaceful time.

Obito surveyed the small apartment. He couldn't help but look around. It had been a very long time since the last time he'd seen it and it had changed a lot. It wasn't nearly bare like it had been; there was a lot of stuff in it now. All the things a little boy would like. Well, a ninja boy, that is. One that was all alone…and had nothing to do but sit around and read ninja scrolls and play with weapons. Obito felt a horrible pain when he saw that all of the boy's actual toys were now pinned to the walls with kunai and throwing stars. Half of him was proud. The other half however… _'I can't deal with this shit right now…'_

_

* * *

"Um…excuse me…what did you just say? I know you didn't just really say that." _

"_His NAME is NARUTO!" _

_A hand slammed onto the countertop, causing Obito to nearly choke on his noodles. He looked up at the woman on the other side of the counter. She looked livid._

"_That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! How can you do that to a child!" His sensei sounded upset too. That was weird. He'd stood up to glare at the angry woman who was staring him down. Obito thought it was funny. His sensei all but towered over her, yet she stood her ground and managed to look even more threatening that he did, and his sensei was, in fact, a pretty scary guy, especially when he was angry. That said a lot for the woman._

"_It's MY kid! I'll call him whatever I want! Besides, it's a perfect name for him." Obito chuckled as he watched the woman fold her arms across her chest and smirk at his sensei._

"_It's a stupid little fish wafer that you eat on top of ramen! How is it perfect?"_

"_Because it looks like a swirl…" She held out one of the swirly wafers for his sensei to get a good look at, popped it in her mouth, and crunched it loudly. "And because when he writes it, it will be like NA-RU-TOOOO," she made a swirl in the 'TO' as she traced it on the countertop with her long pointy fingernail. She looked up at his sensei and shouted the rest of her verbal assault. "U-ZU-MA-KI! Swirling Whirlpool! Get it?"_

"_Whirlpool…" _

_Obito examined his sensei's face. He didn't really look pissed off anymore. He looked…a little…disappointed? "Hey! I think it's a cool name, Sensei." _

"_Of course you do! You just love that…shit!" His sensei wrinkled his nose and waved a snobbish finger in the direction of his bowl of miso ramen._

"_Sensei! Never talk bad about ramen in front of me! And it's not shit! It's just noodles! Geez! Why do hate it so much?"_

"…_It just…makes me sick…just thinking about it..." Obito wasn't sure if his sensei was talking to him…or the woman… He was glaring at her as he said it. 'Sensei?' _

"_Too bad for you! Obito and I, happen to like ramen. Isn't that right kid?" She was demanding more than asking._

"_Yup."_

"_See? You should really just get used to it. Who knows, maybe you will even come to like it."_

"_I'll never like it. Not ever."_

"_Why's that then?" _

"_Because…" His sensei looked at him and then looked back at the woman, "It's stupid. I refuse to…like it." It sounded to Obito as if his sensei was trying to choose his words very carefully along with wrestling to stow his attitude. _

"_Well, what are YOU going to do about it?"_

_Before his sensei could answer her, a random Chuunin appeared behind them in a poof. "Hokage Sama, I've been sent to find you. You are needed at the tower."_

"_Alright. I'll…be right there." Obito watched as his sensei slowly stood and turned to face the woman behind the counter again. "I guess I'll be seeing you. Miss Tsunami…Uzumaki." He then tuned and looked down at Obito, "Send Kuroimaru to me later. I'll let him know where you can meet me."_

"_Right!" He gave his sensei a 'thumbs up' and winked at him. _

_His sensei gave him a funny look. "You know, you should really stop hanging around that Gai…guy… He's becoming a bad influence on you." _

"_Whatever sensei. See you later. Have fun at 'work'." Obito smirked when he notice his sensei roll his eyes before he disappeared in a swirl of leaves. 'Haha! Swirl,' he thought as he turned back to the woman behind the counter. "Tsune…what's up with you and my sensei?"_

"_Your sensei pisses me off."_

"_Why? What did he do to piss you off?"_

"_He was born! Haha…really, it's nothing, he just gets on my nerves, you know?"_

"_Right."_

"_Right."_

"_My sensei's got a thing for you."_

"_You think so? Haha! What makes you say a thing like that?"_

"_He was trying his best to be nice, even though you pissed him off. It's weird…Look! He even left you a big tip! He didn't even buy anything!" Obito held out a wad of money and Tsunami quickly snatched it from him._

"_So you want another bowl or what? This more than covers it."_

"_Sure! One can never have enough ramen!"_

"_Heh heh…you're a cute little kid you know that?"_

"_I'm not a little kid! I'm fifteen!"_

"_Heh! Still cute though."_

"_Where's my ramen?"_

"_Yeah, yeah…whatever…here you go…kid." Obito smiled as the steaming fresh ramen was pored into his bowl, but he gasped when his friend suddenly cried out in pain and half doubled over. "Tsunami! What happened?"_

_Tsunami panted and gritted her teeth as steadied herself with the countertop and stood back up. "I just got kicked in the spine from the inside. Naruto is going to a mean one…heh heh heh." _

* * *

Naruto paused from chewing his mouthful of food and looked up at his sensei. Obito had been chuckling to himself a minute ago, now he looked…a little…unsettled? He must have sensed Naruto staring because he looked up, chuckled nervously at him, and reached into one of his pockets, but Naruto didn't see him pull anything out though. Today was weird. He felt weird. _'What the hell is going on today?'_

It looked like Sasuke had finished eating to Obito. He was just sitting there with his head resting back on the couch, staring at the ceiling. The now empty take out box was dangerously close to slipping out of his hand. He looked like shit. Defeated and exhausted. _'Poor kid.' _"Sasuke…"

"What…"

"Look over here for a minute." When Sasuke raised his head to meet eyes with him, Obito quickly formed what looked like a chain of seals, but then, without calling out a jutsu, he flattened his palm beneath his chin and blew some kind of dust directly into the boy's face.

Sasuke didn't even know what hit him. He flinched at the fake out, then, realizing something wasn't right, rubbed at his eyes. He sneezed, and then looked up at sensei as if to ask him 'What the fuck?', then promptly fell over, unconscious.

Naruto watched curiously. That wasn't expected at all. "Um…"

"It's sleep dust. Nothing bad. I thought it was about time I put him down for a nap."

Naruto just stared at Obito for a minute, then, feeling a little…weird…he decided to again focus his attention on eating what was left of the small feast. Obito was doing his best, Naruto thought, to make him feel extremely uncomfortable by just sitting there staring at him with a disturbing look on his face. Naruto didn't like it. "What?"

Obito suddenly looked as though he was trying to find the words he wanted to say. "Naruto…um…so…are you like…pissed at me?"

"Why would I be pissed at you? I don't care if you think that guy needs a nap. He needs a hell of lot more than that, if you ask me."

Obito chuckled, "That's not what I meant."

"Then you mean about making me show them my seal? Nah, I ain't mad about that. It's kind of nice…having them know. It makes it easier on me."

"About your seal…well no, that's not what I meant either."

"Then what? Why would I even have a reason to be pissed at you in the first place? You just bought me a huge fucking dinner! I'm full and content! Except for the fact that you keep staring at me with that weird look on your face…and you chuckle to yourself in a way that is just a little too close to the way that weird fucker right there tends to do."

"I was talking about the fact that I left you here…by yourself…I feel really bad…"

"Look mister, I don't even know you. It's cool that you're here now, and you are my sensei… really. I'm excited to learn from you. But as far what happened when I was too small to remember, I guess it doesn't really matter now, so why would I hold a grudge? And just so you know…I don't wanna talk about my parents. I don't know them, and I'd prefer to keep it that way. I don't care what happened. It's over. There's just me now, so I'd really rather not get into all that, if you don't mind."

"Right…"

"Oh yeah…now that I'm thinking about it… Earlier, when you finished choking me…you called me a little bastard. I didn't like that. Don't do that…or I'll cut your fucking tongue out."

Obito was taken completely by surprise. Naruto said it in a way that wasn't really angry…it was almost cheerful…but still very serious. He even had a cheerful grin on his face and his eyes were squinted, almost closed. When the kid opened his eyes again, Obito saw them fade from red to blue again, then his expression changed. He looked a tad confused for a minute, but relaxed when he saw that Obito wasn't going to pummel the shit out of him for getting mouthy. _'Naruto…!'_

"So…what now?" Naruto was feeling more than a little strange. He kind of felt the need to just be alone and let his twisted mess of thoughts unwind, but he was reluctant to be rude to one of the only people who seemed to truly want to spend time with him. How weird was today? Before Obito could answer him, as if on cue…there was a knock at the door. "Who the fuck could that be…?"

"Oh! I think that's for me." Obito stood and opened up the door, revealing that the mysterious visitor was, in fact, HIMSELF! "So what did she say?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"No. But I'm going to find out sooner or later…so…" The shadow clone disappeared in a puff of smoke. Obito braced himself on the door frame and winced as the clones memories flooded into his mind. "Ah…okay…that's a relief…sheesh…I was worried for a minute!"

Naruto watched the scene, not entirely surprised. It was reasonable for his sensei to know Kage Bunshin after all, but it did seem weird that he was so affected by absorbing just one clone's memories. He never really had that problem, even though he'd only just learned that technique like a week ago, but he'd used it enough to get the gist of what was happening. The clone moves and thinks separately once they've been summoned, but when it disperses its memories become one with the summoner's. Naruto had noticed that of course. It sucked in battle because it could be distracting, but he hadn't really had that much trouble adjusting to the mental shift. Sure, it was really weird at first, but he got used to it quickly. It freaked him out of course…interacting with his clones…because they already knew what he was thinking, just because they WERE exactly HIM, and they acted on their own in exactly the same way that he would. Weird. "Obito sensei?"

"Hey kid…I need you to do something for me…"

"What's that?"

"Let him stay here with you tonight." Obito pointed to the unconscious boy on the floor next to the couch.

Naruto sighed loud. "It would be mean to just wake him up after all that…I guess…" He looked from his new friend to his new sensei, "What are you gunna do then? I thought we were supposed to meet you at dawn, at the training grounds."  
"Come here."

"Why? You're not going to choke me again are you?"

Obito sighed. "Just do it."

Reluctantly, Naruto stood and approached him. Obito stepped into the doorway and motioned for Naruto to follow him outside.

Once there, Obito closed the door and turned to face his student. "Look," he pointed towards the bar across the street and up the block, "I'm going to go over there…and I'm going to hook up with an old pal…and once that's done, I'm going for a long walk. I need to think some things through very carefully. I wasn't expecting all of this…shit. I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do…see?" Naruto nodded in understanding. "Naruto…look…that kid…he's…really fucked up…I don't know what to do with him. Earlier… I found him… Look, he seems to trust you…help me out."

"Want me to tell you what he told me?"

"What did he tell you?"

'_That he wanted to kill me?'_ Naruto sighed. "That his brother gave him his memories, to torture him, or to…make him 'like' him…whatever that means. He said that Itachi guy wanted to make him into some kind of twisted murderer…or something…to test his own skills."

"He didn't tell you what he saw?"

"No. He said he couldn't talk about it with me."

Obito smiled pathetically and sighed. _'Well that's just fucking great.'_ The Hokage's words came back to him. _'…I'm afraid that he may have severe emotional problems. His instructors tell me that, though the other children seem to like him, he has no friends and is rarely seen doing anything but training.'_ Obito felt a tiny hint of dread set in. _'Sasuke has a new friend. Great. What the fuck…' _"Is that all he said?"

"Oh! No, he said something about that Mangekyou thing."

'_FUCK! DAMN IT!' _"Naruto, is he stronger than you? Be honest. This is important."

Naruto didn't know what to say. Sasuke was…the best…at everything. He was nearly flawless. Everything he did was just fucking perfect…but still…Naruto saw that as a weakness…it was mechanical…not adaptive…it was pure instinct and nothing else. Naruto knew all about instinct…he could see right through it…to the core. Sasuke wasn't always in total control of his actions. He moved without totally thinking things through and that was what could get him killed. Naruto paused at the memories of his clones being repeatedly stabbed and beaten yesterday. That was a troublesome little thing that hadn't been given the chance to come out and bite him yet. He understood completely why Kage Bunshin was a forbidden jutsu. Some people probably had a real rough time with using it in a fight, considering their minds would still remember what it was like to be killed even though they were still around to ponder it. _'He's a fucking killing machine.' _"He's an annoying bastard that's for sure. He's fucking persistent, and dangerous even without weapons, but I could probably take him if I was given another shot."

Naruto seemed confident in his answer. That would have to be good enough. "Alright then…I'm off. Don't forget about tomorrow. I've got a big surprise for you kids." Obito turned and waved over his shoulder as he made his way towards the staircase. He stopped at the top of the stairs and tuned back to Naruto. "Just so you know…it isn't a curse."

"What…my seal? Ha! That's what you think, mister."

"I'm serious. If it wasn't for that seal…you'd be dead right now… It's not a curse."

"Whatever you say, Obito sensei." Naruto carelessly waved as he twisted the doorknob and entered his apartment.

Obito sighed and made his way leisurely down the staircase. Off to meet up with his old pal. It had been a long time since he'd seen him. They had a lot of catching up to do.

Naruto looked down at the unconscious boy on his floor. _'Damn it. He could have at least put him in the bed…or on the couch… Damn it! This sucks!' _He huffed as he bent down to get a good grip on Sasuke's arms. He dragged the dead weight across the floor and sat him up against the edge of the bed, and then he bent down and somehow managed to sling Sasuke over his shoulder. Readjusting his balance, he struggled to his feet, and hoisted Sasuke onto the bed. He adjusted him so that his whole body lay on it, and considered leaving it at that, but then he remembered the state he'd woken up in that morning. Sasuke at leased had the courtesy to put him under the covers, and take off his shoes…and his jacket…AND HE'D WASHED IT! And he even cleaned his wound…and wrapped it…and he'd offered him breakfast and a shower! Okay, well he was ordered to take a shower, but still! _'Well he ain't got no shoes…or a jacket… A blanket will have to do.' _He walked over to the 'pillow heap' couch and dug out a blanket, then returned, spread it out, and laid it over the sleeping boy.

Naruto noticed that Sasuke's hair had fallen in his face. He thought it might tickle him and wake him up so he reached out and gently brushed it away. His fingertips traced the curve of the boys jaw as he pulled his hand back. He stared down at Sasuke's flawless, pale, features for a moment, studying them. Sasuke certainly was a beautiful thing to look at, when he wasn't all pissed off. _'Bastard's downright pretty when he's sleeping.'_ He could see why Sakura liked him so much. _'Pretty boy…heh…bastard.'_

Naruto brushed off the thought and walked away. He was tired now…and full…and contented. He yawned, walked over to the lamp, and clicked it off. It was time to call it a day. _'Time to relax. Time to sleep.' _He had to get up early tomorrow, after all. Pulling his nightcap over his head, he flopped onto the couch, closed his eyes, and slept…and dreamed...

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OKAY! So there it is. The end of "When They Became Genin". That day is now over. Time to move on. 

REVIEWER STUFF: Holy crap. That's all I have to say. So far, I have been threatened with death, humped, proposed to bear children…and a bunch of other weird stuff… What can I say to that? I fucking love you guys! Hahahaha! (((Not in that weird way.))) Don't get mad that I'm not exactly announcing what pairings are going to happen in this…I think I'm sticking with the claim that there are going to be multiple ones…NONE of which, by the way, will involve an adult and a child. (((Or Kakashi and Iruka…come on…have some respect. snicker's evilly))) We'll just have to see how it goes from here…and then, from there, to the next one, and the next one, and the next one…(((Damn are you ever a pervert!))) Shut up!

So really, I'm serious, how am I doing? Is it good? Is it too slow? Do you like my characterizations? Is it funny? Sexy? Stupid? Are you excited about what's happening or what's going to happen? Want to see something? Curious to know about something? What? This chapter is about the length of two or three decent length chapters, sooo, I hope you consider that when you review. (((snuggles)))

So yeah! I've had a lot of people give me some really great reviews; even the one's that just mentioned one little thing that they liked or wanted to see. I'm really very thankful for that! I hope you guys know who you are. You've been very inspirational to me! Otherwise I would have quit a long time ago. I'm doing my best to keep this story interesting and trying my hardest to do the characters justice, so, to all of you who read this (and don't review), WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR! (((SHEESH!))) HERE! I'M DOING A DANCE FOR YOU! flails arms and legs wildly COME ON! AHHHH!

OMG! WHAT'S GUNNA HAPPEN?

(((HAKU! I LOVE YOU SO!))) Hey! Keep your fucking panties on! We'll get there in time! These poor kids need time to rest and train before they can take on that whole heap of shit! And poor Obito! He needs time to adjust! (((Obito Sama…sniffle))) Yes. That's right. We have other business to attend to at the moment. It is finally time for us to do drum roll "With Bells On". crickets (((Kakashi! Woohoo! Kakashi is such a pimp! (waves Kakashi flag and gives a "peace" sign oOv))) Yeah, but he's a dead pimp, none the less. (((OOOOO! LET'S GO SEE WHAT HAPPENED!))) Shut up. I have homework to do. (((NOOOOOOO!))) Do you want to end up flunking out of school and working at our shitty job for the rest of our life? (((no))) Then just be fucking patient! (((…okay…sniffle))) Aw…isn't that cute… (((AHHHH!))) What now? (((YONDAIME SAMA!))) AHHHHHHHHH! (Two thumbs up!)(((WOOHOO!))) I think I'll just take a nap now. waves Later then. Review please. (((Perdy-pwease…with bells…I mean, with cherries on top? bats eyes))) !On top of what! (((Pervert.)))

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FRIGGIN' SNEEK PREVIEW FOR THOSE WHO ACTUALLY READ THIS FAR!

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With Bells On: Old Friends 

Obito was drunk. Well, no, he was more than that. He was fall down, sloppy, shit faced, hammered. Sake? Nah. That was not NEARLY what this occasion called for, so Obito had asked his old pal Whiskey to accompany him for the evening. He and Whiskey hadn't talked for a while. See, after their last adventure, Obito had sworn never to play with Whiskey again because he decided that Whiskey was a bad influence on him. But TODAY? Obito decided that he wasn't angry anymore and it was time to forgive his old pal and get hammered to celebrate their renewed friendship. Whiskey seemed to agree. Yeah. That sounded like an excellent idea to him.

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Until then...

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	10. With Bells On: Old Friends and Spirits

Hhhhhhhh….long breathy sigh I'm feeling a bit pissed off today. I think I need a little death. Yes. Give me some nice death with a slice of…flesh…yeah…that works…slicing up flesh…slicing up flesh is good….for today… Isn't it funny how one dumb little thing can ruin the whole damned day?

DISCLAIMER: I am so poor I'm surprised I own anything at all, let alone something that would actually earn me some freakin' money, though, I'm pretty sure my soul is still among my meager possessions... sigh (((You know, we could always kidnap Naruto and chain him up in the basement and…))) No. That wouldn't work at all. We'd have to kidnap Kishimoto San and that would be felony or something…we don't need that… (((SPOIL SPORT!))) sigh

WARNINGS: Someone's gunna die, in case you haven't figured that out yet…sigh

SPOILERS: I think I already took care of that…sigh

NOTES: I found an interesting fact about the word "Chidori" but I think I'll save that for another time… Not really in the mood for laughs right now…

OKAY! I'VE DECIDED TO JUST POST THIS SHORT ASS CHAPTER! IT LOOKS A LOT LONGER THAN IT REALLY IS! So, yeah…There is a bunch of shit at the end of the chapter! (((POSSIBLY FUN STUFF))) Oh yeah! And everyone thank APRIL at adult fan fiction, for convincing me to keep this chapter like it is and save some of the stuff I was going to put in it for later…Now I can get back to the next part, which I was working on before.

I was really pissed about this chapter…THANKS APRIL! You are awesome!

Enough of my idiot babbling…(((BRING ON THE DEATH!))) …sigh

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When we left Obito, he was on his way to the bar. Since that time, he's acquired a bottle of some very hard to find, imported, liquor (for the sake of keeping with the whole fictional 'ensemble'), and paid a hefty price for it too. We now join him as he makes his way to the place he hasn't been in a very long time.

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With Bells On: Old Friends and Spirits

Obito was drunk. Well, no, he was more than that. He was fall down, sloppy, shit faced, hammered. Sake? Nah. That was not NEARLY what this occasion called for, so Obito had asked his old pal Whiskey to accompany him for the evening. He and Whiskey hadn't talked for a while. See, after their last adventure, Obito had sworn never to play with Whiskey again because he decided that Whiskey was a bad influence on him. But TODAY? Obito decided that he wasn't angry anymore and it was time to forgive his old pal and get hammered to celebrate their renewed friendship. Whiskey seemed to agree. Yeah. That sounded like an excellent idea to him.

What the fuck was he thinking? Whiskey was a lyin' cheetin' ass, bastard! Obito leaned over to steady himself on a random tree and proceeded to violently retch his old pal from his belly. "…ugh…huff huff…cack…Fuck…" He decided to wash the awful regurgitated taste out his mouth with the only beverage he had on him. Whiskey. "Heh…get back in there…you…prick."

He kept moving, slowly, but surely, through the woods towards the training grounds, trying his best to keep his footing. "Time to visit another old pal..." It had been a while since he'd seen him too, after all. This visit was long over due…

He made his way, staggering and cursing, to the break in the trees, and cringed when caught sight of his objective. Before long, ghosts from the past crept up on him. They stole away his thoughts and whispered to him about events long past, and unfortunately, long since forgotten.

"_You're LATE! AGAIN! Where have you been?"_

"Ka-ka-shiiii… it's been a while…old pal…" Obito stumbled up the steps to the war soldier's memorial. He caught himself as he tripped, but still managed to lose his grip on his bottle and spill most of the remains of his other old pal onto the pavement. He grumbled as he leaned back down to pick it up. It was a troublesome task, considering his balance had been all but destroyed by the same object he was in the process of retrieving. "So how've you been old buddy?"

"_Get up! Worthless ninja! You're supposed to be better than this!"_

"You look the same as ever…heh heh heh…"

"_Look at you! Your clan must be so proud! Trash." _

The assault his old friend was giving his psyche brought a sad smile to face. "I would have come sooner…but I had some things to attend to…sorry I'm so late…" He laughed pathetically at himself. It felt just like old times. He brought the near empty vessel to his lips, drained the last trickle of spirits onto his tongue, and grunted when he realized that he'd just consumed the last of it. "Well…Kakashi…old pal…looks like it's just you and me for the rest of the evening. That puddle over there can be your share…enjoy."

"_It's sad. The war seems to have drained this village of its quality…letting trash like you become ninja." _

"You are not going to believe the shit I've gotten myself into this time…" Tired of exerting the energy to stand, Obito let out a long drawn out sigh and slumped down, resting his back on the cold stone that was etched with the names of his former comrades. "It would seem…that karma…has caught up with me…heh heh heh…you see, Old man Sandaime has blessed me with a team of Genin… Those kids…I fear that the old man should have just taken them…"

"_What's wrong? Can't keep up? You need me to carry you?" _

"I wonder how you'd laugh if you could see them… They need a lot of work…but they are all very talented… I've asked them to come here to meet you, you know…" Obito paused, looking up at the star strewn heavens. The half formed circle of a pale moon hung low, just above the tree line, sinking slowly, preparing to retire to the other side of the world. "They should be here pretty soon…"

"_HA HA HA! Is that the best you can do?" _

"I don't know what to do with them…but I got some bells." He reached into his pocket and produced two small bells, each tied to its own string. He held them up to examine them, and jingled them a few times as if to test their 'quality'. They'd do. "I thought I'd play the game with them…like Sensei made us play back then… It's nice be the one holding them this time…hahaha…sort of."

"_Looks like you lose Obito! Ha ha! Not good enough this time!" _

"I almost wish it would be a challenge… like it always was between you and me…" Obito returned the bells to his pocket and leaned his head back on the stone, again looking into the inky darkness of the sky. "I miss those times… Hahaha…bet you never thought you'd hear me say something like that, egh old friend?"

"_Why are you so weak? Your clan is supposed to be Elite!"_

Resented tears threatened to spill from his eyes as he recalled the memory of his old friend, his rival. He wished in vain that he could hear his old friend's voice ring truly in his ears, even for just one last time. Could those words could ever be ones of forgiveness? He'd even settle for that old familiar spite that he was so used hearing. Anything, anything to bring them back…those days… There wasn't much he wouldn't give to be offered that ever elusive second chance, to be given the opportunity to redeem himself, to make amends. "Kakashi…"

"_A Shinobi must never show his tears!"_

"I'm so sorry…" Obito forced his tears away for the sake of his old comrade. "…It should have been me…"

* * *

_Tears spilled from his eyes as he watched his teammate stand and walk away from the mangled body of their commander. The reality of the situation gripped and froze him in his place. He'd failed. He'd seen it coming. He knew that his commander had a blind spot, but he'd done nothing to prevent what had just occurred. Cowardice. He cursed himself for being so weak._

"_Obito," his teammate spoke softly as she approached him, "He's awake," she was trying her best to hold down her own tears, "He wants…to speak with you…I'll keep watch for the enemy…please hurry. We don't have much time."_

"_Obito…come here…" Obito was shaken from his trance and he forced his feet to move. It was the most difficult thing he'd ever done. As he approached, he saw the pool of blood that was forming around the area where his commander's lower half had been crushed by the fallen debris. It tormented him. He could have saved him…but he didn't… _

"_Kakashi…I'm so sorry…I should have…"_

"_Shut up! Listen to me…you have the use of Sharingan now…" Kakashi's body had been pinned between the rocks and the ground, half twisted, so he was almost lying on his side. "…I need you to do something for me…" _

"_Wha-"_

"_My technique…Chidori…your Dojutsu…can complete it." Kakashi began removing all of his weapons and supplies that he could reach. He placed them in a pile on the ground and turned to look Obito in the eyes. _

"_I don't understand…"_

"_I want you to copy it from me."_

"_Copy it? But I don't know if I…"_

"_Watch me…the hand seals…are like this…" Kakashi formed the seals slowly, making sure that Obito could see them clearly, then labored to summon the chakra required to complete the jutsu. It was weak, but still there, a soft, crackling, screeching noise filled Obito's ears as he watched in shocked fascination. He could see it, understand it…it was amazing. "You focus all of your chakra into your palm…it becomes a blade… Do you understand?"_

"_Yeah…I see it…" Obito shook himself from his daze when he realized that his friend's chakra was nearly completely gone. "Kakashi, you need to save your strength! Please stop!"_

_The jutsu's light faded and Kakashi's hand fell to the ground. "Hegh! I really need you carry my stuff for me this time." He reached over and grabbed a small scroll, then held it out for Obito. "This scroll, see to it that it's returned to my clan, and my weapons and supplies…you'll need them…"_

_Reluctantly, Obito took the scroll that was offered to him and tucked it away in his pack. He knew what was coming, but he lied to himself so he would be able to cope with the situation. "Kakashi? Why are you doing all this? We…Rin…she can help you…"_

"_No. You're the only one…who can help me now…" Kakashi's resolve was firm, but his words held a kindness that was unfamiliar to Obito. "I know I haven't been a very good friend to you…but I have a favor to ask…my last wish…" _

"_Last wish…what…Kakashi?" _

"_I need you…to kill me." _

"_Kakashi! NO! You're going to be fine! Rin can help you!"_

"_I'm still your commander. It's an order. Follow the rules this time…please. The enemy is surrounding this area. You have to protect Rin…and complete the mission."_

"_KAKASHI!"_

"_If they find me…they'll keep me alive to torture me for information…you and Rin have to escape and carry out the mission. Too much is depending on it. This battle could end the war Obito."_

"_I…can't…"_

"_You can. …Obito…my legs are crushed, and without my eye, I have no depth perception. Even if I were to somehow survive…I wouldn't want to. Please…grant me a Shinobi's death…"_

"_No…please…I can't…" Obito suddenly began to cry again. He couldn't help it. If he hadn't been so stubborn, none of this would have happened. It was all his fault…and now…_

"_Obito…please… I don't want to die like my father."_

"_Kakashi…"_

"_Stop crying Obito…you…are a proud Shinobi of the Leaf. A shinobi…must never…show his tears." A single tear spilled form his eye even as he said it. "Please…just show me…that you've learned…my technique. Be quick." Kakashi had faith in his friend. He closed his undamaged eye and waited for what he knew was coming. The last thing he heard was the sound of a thousand birds…and a single voice screaming.

* * *

_

YEP! THAT'S RIGHT! THIS IS THE END OF THE CHAPTER!

Well, I really hope this wasn't too cheesy cuz MY pal was all bitching at me saying that I was making Kakashi go out like a punk, but I'm like "NO! It had to happen this way! (for hopefully obvious reasons.)" And this chapter made me really sad too! Really. I was already in a shitty mood when I started it, and I was all emotional and shit, so it was a difficult thing to get done…even though it's short. Anyway I hope you liked it. Oh well. Come back soon for the next chapter: "With Bells On: Survival"

The mood is about to take a sudden shift back to normal…well…normal as it ever was.

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(((HOLY FUCKING CRAP!))) What? (((THE NEW MANGA CHAPTER!))) OMG! I KNOW! ITACHI TURNED INTO A BUNCH OF BLACK BIRDS! AHHHH! (((DID YOU EVER GET LUCKY WITH THAT ONE! snuggles Kuroimaru))) I KNOW! If anything concerning a 'fushicho' comes up in the manga….I will fucking piss my pants! (((Hey! Stop revealing our evil plans!))) Sorry! Sheesh!

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OMG! Yeah, the Chidori thing I mentioned…

See, in the book of Japanese slang that I have…I was surprised to find that the word Chidori is used as derogatory word to describe umm…how should I put it…? (((Just say it!))) Okay okay… 'Chidori' is used when talking about 'manly' lesbians. The word refers to some kind of bird that "Wobbles" or something…I don't have the book in front of me, or I'd just type what it said. SO! There's the stupid fact for the day. Be content.

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MOVING ON THEN! Damn it if you people ain't driving me nuts! Sheesh! Okay, so here goes. This story is going to be Shonen-ai. That of course, means nothing…until later. (evil grin) I plan on having all the fun I can with everyone! (((Oh my sweet Haku! I can't wait to finally meet you!))) Anyway…here are some likely/possible (((AND SOME DEFINITE))) random pairings:

Naruto and Sakura, (((Obvious…yawn…))) But still, this one IS happening. (((It better not suck.))) I would think that you would WANT her to suck! (((...Well yeah...but still.)))

Sakura and Sasuke, (((Please show me how THAT will happen! ..snicker..))) Not a "love" type thing…more like treachery…(((Sounds intriguing!)))

Sakura and Neji, (((He's too good for that bitch!))) Yeah…that's true…but Neji needs some luvin' and I ain't a Ten Ten kinda girl. I've always thought she should hook up with my guy Lee anyway…Ten Ten I mean. (((I guess…You bitch.)))

Sakura and (Ahem) a girl, (((Now I'm thinking…What GIRL could it be?))) Icha Icha Bath House!

Yeah, um…I'm going to try something a bit different, if you are clever, you may be able to figure or the scenario of this one: Sasuke. Yeah that's right. Not him solo…oh no…never that. snicker, (((BWAHAHAHAHAHA! YOU SICK TWISTED BITCH!))) KUKUKUKU! I swear I will take UCHIHACEST TO A NEW FRIGGIN LEVEL! (((if she does what she wants, that is.))) Heh! (((Think back to chapter 4.)))

Sasuke and Naruto, (((PAY DIRT!))) Will take some doing! How does one go about making two adolescent boys fall in love? With out it being completely cheesy…(((You make one of them have homo-erotic fantasies that they can't get rid of, of course!))) Not until waaaaaaay later (((If it really happens!))) This is Shonin Ai, it almost HAS TOO! Plus…getting there is almost ALL the fun! (((Tease.)))

Sasuke and Hinata, (((Sasuke sure does get around, don't he?))) Watch me make this happen. (((Reviving the clan are we?))) One never knows…does one? Twins DO run in her family! Two birds with one fuck! (((You did not just say that.)))

Obito and (((ME! PLEASE FUCKING GOD! MAKE IT BE ME!))) NO! STUPID! THAT'S STUPID! (((AHHHH! YOU SUCK!))) IT'S GOTTA BE LILLIATH BECAUSE OTHREWISE SHE WILL BRING THE WRATH UPON US! (Evil grin) (WINK!) Actually, Anko has always been my first pick, as it will be convenient in the future ((( "Oh look! Anko! You're curse is the same as Sasuke's! Mind if I…get a closer look? Just shut up and take off your shirt." ))) KUKUKUKU! And now that someone has actually ASKED for it…(((ASHES)))… But then again, who knows? I'm good at making weird shit happen!

Obito and (((SAKURA'S MOM!))) DAMN IT NO! AHEM I never said that Rin was dead. I said she was gone. There is a difference.

Obito and random whores, (((…yawn…Prostitutes are okay I guess…)))

Obito and Shizune? (((Never really thought about that one…)))

Obito and…Iruka! (((If you did that…I would slit your throat and drink your blood and take a shit on your worthless corpse!))) Hahahaha…couldn't resist! (((Get a fucking life!))) "My, my,…Iruka-san…You're looking pretty…tastey today! Mind if I…touch your hot little ass?" (((YOU STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!))) "Oh My! Obito-san…I've never considered a thing like that before…but you are just so sexy!" (((covers eyes NOOOOO! BLASPHEMY!))) Hahahaha! Actually (((STRANJ100))) Now that you mention it, I never even thought about that before! I will definitely be handling that whole 'interaction' thing with Iruka (((NOT HOW YOU ARE THINKING YOU PERVERTS!))) Yeah, it'll most likely take place at the Chuunin exams.

Jiraiya and Tsunade? (((OMG. You wouldn't do that!))) Never say never! (((Maybe you should KILL Tsunade!))) Hmmm…interesting idea…

OKAY who DOESN'T think that Kimimaro should die? (((Me! Fucking HOT ASS SEXY!))) Ooooo! Him and Sasuke! (fans herself) (((Kimimaro OROCHIMARU STYLE and Sasuke!))) That would take some doing…OMG. I think I might have to do that! (drools) (((Wipe your nose you freak!))) (whips out tissue)

Jiraiya and Orochimaru! (((Come on! That's so played!))) Yeah…but still… (((GET OVER IT!))) (Snicker) (((You're bad)))

Minuscule attention MAY be (((at some point))) paid to the following:

Ino and Sasuke…if I decide to throw a party… "Oh! Happy birthday Sasuke!" "Oh. Hey Ino. For me? You shouldn't have. (Whispers to Naruto) You owe me big time for this Dead Last!"

Ino and Chouji! (((YES! CHOUJI!))) HE DESERVES SOME RESPECT TOO DAMN IT!

Ino and Shikamaru…(((Boring but hey…only young once…Spring time of youth and all)))

Ten ten and Lee... (((LEE!))) Gui Sensei! (((LEEEE!))) Gui Sensei! (((LEEEEEEEE!))) Kukukukuku! Shut up fool! (((middle finger for you))) Actually I'm surprised no one has asked to see a scene between Gui and Obito! THAT'S WHAT I WANNA SEE! (((PERVERT! YUCK!))) I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT AND YOU KNOW IT! (((SURE. Sicko.))) THAT'S IT! YOU GO BACK TO YOUR CAGE RIGHT NOW! (((Bitch.)))

Shikamaru and Temari…(((...(clicks cage closed) Like they didn't see that one coming…))) Who knows how it will go this time though!

Kiba and Hinata…(((Gotta have that at some point for it to feel real…hahahaha…)))

Shino and…(((A BUNCH OF SEXY BUGS! WOO HOO!))) Shut up. (((Got a better idea?))) I'm at a loss. (((Damn.)))

I haven't even allowed myself to think about everyone's favorite little Sand spook! (((So evil…yet so sexy and appealing at the same time!)))

Good grief…this is getting out of hand! SHEESH!

ALL RIGHT THEN! That's plenty off bull shit for one chapter…come back next time for "With Bells On: Survival"

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**FOR MY PAST REVIEWERS! SOME FUCKING LOVE!**

Okay! I've been trying to answer most of my reviews personally, but some of them came back to me and some didn't leave e-mail or were "anon", and also, sometimes I really just don't know what to say, or the questions have been answered in story… so yeah…I'm just gunna put the replies for Adult Fan Fiction, and Fan Fiction .net up at once because it makes for less work from me, which of course gives me more time to write more. Feel free to scroll for your name and disregard all the rest of my babbling…if you don't find yourself here and feel left out, I didn't do it on purpose; it's just a little confusing. Let me know and I will make sure to give you the respect you are owed!

Okay!

**At Adult Fan Fiction:** These are for the reviews I got AFTER "When They Became Genin" started…I think…I'm just trying to be thorough. If I accidentally skipped you, feel free to bitch, and I will no doubt reply with my apologies.

JILL: Kakashi! Pow! Dead! Hahaha! Sorry…Really this chapter made me really sad…it's humiliating! I was getting all sad from something I PLANNED AND WROTE! BAA! Anyway sorry for being cryptic, can't help it sometimes…Thanks for taking the time to review! (If you are even still reading…sigh)

CFOX: "I hope in the next chapter we here more about Obito's thoughts on his "charges" I would really like to see what he thinks about Sasuke's home . All those candels and that shuriken mobile." ---- This comment was very inspirational to me…It made me think a lot of stuff through…(and I'm still working on a lot of it!) THANK YOU! SNUGGLES! Really. You made me come up with A LOT of ideas, just from that! You should be praised!

CELTICFX: Ha! You said you couldn't stop reading it so...well…I didn't think chapter 9 would be so bad…I regret posting all that at once now…sigh I wonder if you are even still reading? Anyway, if you are…Thank you! And I hope you enjoyed "When They Became Genin!" hugs!

DEMON: Haha! I actually take kindly to death threats! In my opinion, the deeper the threat, the more you care! hugs

(checks out the ANON one after your review…Oh my…I'll take that as a Naru/Sasu vote…)

GHONCHI! Good Grief! I've already replied to you…on many an occasion… duck's a flying pancake…I'll never forget that review you know…I swear…I never knew about that mistake…BLUSHES HARD! BIG GLOMPS FOR YOU! OH! I just got your last review! Let me just say, that if you thought I was not making a point with a lot of the stuff in chapter 9,well, I felt all of it was necessary, sorry…hee hee…I have big plans for the future and was trying to set up a lot of stuff that will come into play later, even if it may not make much sense right now…so yeah…I hope I can keep interest until I can make some sense of it…but it's going to take a while…I will cover it in depth with you if you point out exactly which parts you thought didn't have to be there…If you want, and who knows? Maybe you might just be right!

GHOSTNINJA85: You are my most constant reviewer and I am blessed that I have you around! Really, sorry for making you endure so much Sukura-ness…I'm very happy that you've endured as long as you have! wink wink Really…I'm actually quite stupid…I for real wasn't trying to lie… smacks forehead Ever awaiting YOUR next chapter!

TOMANYLEMONS: It makes me tingle with joy that you would go through so much trouble to register just to leave me a review! AND I CAN"T WAIT FOR THE WAVE MISSION! AAAAHHH! So many plans! And yes...it would be very interesting! We'll see how that one goes! GLOMPS FOR YOU!

FOAMY/GERMAINE: Been reading them! d(-)b Sigh…and don't worry…I never want to ever make a chapter that long again! It was just…too much information…my brain melted…I never even want to read it again…I had to keep rereading cuz I kept forgetting what I was doing…sigh…anyway…yeah…sorry…I hope you stick around! More fun to come!

YAY: I don't know if this is your real log in name…but any way…YEAH! ME TOO! GLOMP!

PIXIEQUEEN: "This is one of the most amazing Naruto fics i have ever read" Damn. That really makes me feel all warm and fuzzy! HUGE GLOMPS! and your email address…SO COOL!

LAUREN: "Damn, this is a fucking awesome piece of fanfiction. Well written, original plot, and cute characters with issues (what more can a fangirl ask for? ;)" MELTING! I'm FEELING SO SQUISHY! AHHHH! It makes me feel warm and good. And oh my!…I haven't written anything with Oro yet, but Damn, I can't wait to start! And I'm sorry if I confused you with that one part…I tried to fix my blunder… Also, don't kill me for this chapter! I feel bad enough as it is! starts crying KAKASHIIIIIII!

FYREDEVYL: Glad I could entertain! And thank you very much! Hahahha! Sometimes I wonder if I should quit with all the babbling, so hearing that makes me feel better for being a blabber mouth…Hugs!

AKUMARIVER: Sorry to depress you…I'm super happy that you're still reading though! YAY! Don't worry! I try to throw in an equal amount of mania to level out the depression! Wink Makes the happy ending better…

MELAIYA: I'm sorry! Please don't kill me! I updated for you! And yeah…I realize now that it should have come sooner…sigh GLOMPS!

NIGHTFALL SHADOW: See above chapter…starts crying again Anyway, thank you! I've been trying real hard to keep things fresh…hope I can manage to keep it that way.

LILLIATH: BWAHAHAHA! I've already spoken to in length…KUKUKUKUKU! SUPER GLOMP! (orgasm…yes…snicker)

LADY ANACSONA: Holy friggin crap! This is the first time someone ever said they were my fan! FRIGGIN YAY! I GOT A FAN! I'm so glad that you decided to review too! And don't worry…Sasuke can't die! I'd loss like 75 percentof my fun! HUGE GLOMPS! Hope you keep reading!

CAT69: FUCKING YES! MY MISSION HAS SUCCEEDED! I WAS TOTALLY GOING FOR THAT REACTION CUZ THAT'S EXACTLY HOW I FEEL WRITING IT! I hope you continue to read! GLOMPS

MULTIFACETEDTUNE: OMG. Do I even have to say anything? MWAHAHAHAHA! I've discussed everything with you already…d(-)b b(-)d

LASTLY…QUEENOFTHEFEAKS: Your review was personal, so I'll just say HAHAHHAHAHA! I really hope I hear from you again! It's fun to chat with others who are weird like me! YAY! Thank you so much! And I mean it! If it becomes cheap and easy…I'll get a hold of you! Evil chuckling SNUGGLES

So there. That's that.

**OKAY! NOW FOR FAN FICTION . net:**

These are just going to be from Chapters 8 and 9 because I went through and responded to everyone before that by email, so if you didn't get one and feel left out…I'm SORRY! A lot of those emails came back to me and I don't know which one's got theirs…If you bitch at me, I'll be sure to reply.

FIRST OF ALL…GRAVIDY! To quote you…"HOLY HELL!" Look here, when I get my own planet…and I am the ruler…I am going to name it after YOU! PLANET GRAVIDY! I am becoming very possessive of you now! If you go away, I will cry! I need to hear from you because you are just… (gets all choked up) THANK YOU SO MUCH! Though, looking back…I think I should have ended it with the radical cliff hanger after all…I about friggin' died writing all that! So…anyway…how's the goldfish doing? (chuckle) (How could I forget about that? …you don't remember do you…sigh…) Kukukuku! I LOVE YOU! NARUNARUNARUNARU! YAY!

KARIBANU: Your first review made me ponder really hard…it keeps me in check! Thank you! Also…sorry to bore you with the long Naru Sasu dialogue…I just felt that the birth of their 'friendship' required specific attention and also I was trying to set up some future stuff…hopefully all that will pan out well And I plan on leaving no one out…even though I might want to sometimes… Messy? Really? (checks out the state of her apartment) Damn it! It spills out into everything! I agree though…(sigh) maybe I should get a beta…

HIKARU OF DREAMS/ARROW: Glad I could make you chuckle! Hahah! And thank you very much! I hope to hear from you again! (hugs!)

TOMBADGERLOCK: Thank you! You (except for Gravidy) are the only one to compliment my Naru/Saku. I really had fun with that part too! I was snickering like mad! I just had to make her do SOMETHING cool! Stick around! (wink)(evil grin)

CAELESTIS: THANK YOU! That comment made me feel good! ( Threats make me feel loved! (starry eyes) Hey I checked out some of your art! It's really quite good! Very nice indeed! (My color theory stuff isn't half as good as yours!)

LENA: THANK YOU VERY MUCH! I feel like I'm succeeding in my mission, cuz I just love being vague, but I hate when people don't get it…hmmm…paradoxical…I hope I hear from you again!

DUAL RASENGAN: MWAHAHAHA! I'm using it right now! NAAAARUTOOO I AM YOUR-- oh wait…never mind! (hee hee) AND DAMN! IS THAT EVER A BIG ASS GUN! WOW! I feel loved! Thanks for pulling out the big guns for me! (Smooch!)

LILLIATH AGAIN: SHEESH! HAHHAHAHA! You're just friggin great! I gotta snuggle with you! (Henge's into Obito for you) Kukukukuku! (…orgasm…)

REIGHOST: Sorry to confuse…I tried to make amends! Now hurry up and update! Oops! Sorry I forgot…Don't go slower! Please?

KRN-KINBAP: I wonder if you've even read this far yet? Oh well, Thank you anyway! I had fun with that part with Konohamaru! Hope you read this far! (glomp)

DEATH BY MONKEY: THANK YOU! And SHEESH! I may sound like a prick, but I totally agree with you! Everyone likes a lot of attention, after all…sigh…I hope to hear from you again! Hint hint….

KAWAIINEZIUMI: Again…Sorry for the confusion…I hope it all came together…I did my best to make it not confusing…really! Hope to hear from you again!

FATAL X: I think your email was one that came back to me….so yeah…Don't worry….there will be mostly story! Naruto and Sakura will definitely get some of my attention, even if it may not work out between them in the end, SO KEEP READING! I promise you won't be disappointed! And thank you SOOO much for your review! You have no idea how much it helps me out to hear peoples opinions about what I'm doing! And it came at the perfect time too! I was sad 'cause at another site I didn't really get many comments…but then I got yours and was very HAPPY! So keep talking to me because I'm listening!(GLOMP!)

LAST ZION: THANK YOU VERY MUCH! (Gets all red faced) AND GEEZ! HOW CAN YOU UPDATE SO FAST? I CAN'T KEEP UP! AND AWWW…I wanted see more of your other stories too! Bah…guess it is an authors decision…(cries) Maybe if I ask real nice you will keep them going? When you finish with your other ones that is….(Still gotta read them...sigh..so far behind...)

ALL RIGHT THEN! That's plenty off bull shit for one chapter…come back next time for "With Bells On: Survival"

* * *

A FRIGGIN PREVIEW!

WooT! (o.O)v

Sasuke approached one of the little 'dolls' and examined it closer. He smiled when he realized what he was looking at. "Dead Last," he called, not really loudly, but enough for Naruto to clearly hear him from inside the bathroom.

"What do you want? I'm trying to get ready in here!" The sound of the faucet stopped.

"What's up with this doll out here…by the closet?"

'_Shit!'_ "What doll?"

"The one that says 'Sasuke' and has a kunai through its chest."

* * *

UNTIL THEN! LATER! 


	11. With Bells On: Ethereal Morning

CRAP I FORGOT TO ADD THIS! This chapter is currently UN-BETA'd because MT is super busy and i couldn't wait to post this...then i was going to post the "this is unbeta'd mesage and i did it at the other sight, and forgot upload it here! SHIT! Anyway...d(O-o)b Beta version coming soon!

A/N: June 14, 2005: Okay! I went through and checked to make sure I have dotted all "t's" and crossed all my "i's"…wait…that didn't come out right…shit. evil kackle ANYWAY! I think this chapter is ready to post so here I go…

In celebration of my long awaited 3 week summer break:

Okay, so this is not "Survival". Sorry. I didn't want the chapter to be too long, so here. Chapter 12 will most likely be "Survival", in case you were wondering. Also, I'm beginning to make a few changes that I should have done a long time ago…heh…didn't really think this story would last long enough for anyone to care, so anyway…they will be noted with stars at adultfanfiction, and with numbers at fanfiction. Okay, now that that's settled.

No warnings this time, except my own foul language…and I think some of Sasuke's. And there is always the question of whether or not it's OOC…but oh well…screw it.

WORD FUN:

"Uisuki" "Whiskey" I was surprised to find that translation/definition. Heh. Too bad I was a chapter too late…fuck…now I gotta fix it…sigh…Hmm…now I wonder what the Japanese word for "Vodka" is…and fuck me, it seems I've misplaced my dictionary…sigh…damned messy apartment!

"tori" "bird"

"-ko" a popular ending to a girl's name in Japanese.

"o-" When added to the beginning of a word, it expresses 'honor' or respect…or something like that…wishes she could ask her old sensei exactly how to put that As in: o-sake; o-genki desu ka?; or o-jii-san is that how it is actually spelled?. Anyway, if I use this from time to time, it will only be in the dialogue and it will most likely be meant to express the actual word 'Honorable' as in "Honorable old man/woman". Yes, I use it in this chapter.

Well then, since I am already disclaimed and everything is spoiled…

On with the story…

**With Bells On: Ethereal Morning**

_Obito sat with his back resting against the cold, hard, stone; he'd fallen asleep without realizing that sleep had come to claim him. "Obito…hey…it's time to wake up." He was roused by a pair of gentle hands, and flinched at the realization that he was no longer alone. He snapped up and blinked his eyes, trying to adjust them to the brightness of the early morning sun. When he focused through the glare, he found the image of a man with startlingly blue eyes and sunshine colored hair, smiling down at him, "…What are you doing out of the hospital?"_

"_Sensei?" He yawned, and rubbed at his stinging eyes. "I snuck away…"_

"_Ah. I see. How long have you been out here?"_

"_I don't know…since some time last night…So are you going to yell at me for running away or something?" _

"_Heh! No. That isn't MY business. Really, hospital personnel are so fussy sometimes!"_

"_Then…what are you doing out here?" _

"_Just came to pay my respects, that's all…then I found YOU here." Suddenly feeling the weight of the world bear down on him, Obito looked away from his sensei's smiling eyes. He didn't want to talk about it; he didn't want to think about it; he just wanted it all to go away. He couldn't even look at his sensei without feeling disgusted with himself. As if sensing his discomfort, his sensei offered a change of subject. "Hey, so, you think I could get a 'light' off you?" Obito questioningly turned to his sensei to find him holding out a stick of incense, still smiling lightheartedly at him. He grudgingly let himself return the gesture. His sensei wasn't at all stupid or absent minded, he probably had about ten different items on him that could make his own fire, and if he didn't, he could have used his own jutsu. Obito silently thanked him for being so persistent about wanting to cheer him up. _

"_Sure, Sensei." He didn't even have to form a seal to blow a thin line of fire out to ignite his sensei's offering. Katon jutsu's were his family's 'original' specialty, after all. His sensei let the stick burn a bit to catch, blew it out, stoked it to make sure it would stay lit, and then carefully positioned it in the tray that rested on top of the memorial stone. After kneeling in front of his student, his eyes fluttered closed, and his lips uttered a noiseless prayer. Obito scooted out of the way and knelt down next to his sensei so he could pray in front of the stone as well. _

_A long silence passed between them. _

_Nervously, Obito glanced up at his sensei, who was still sitting with his eyes closed. His face was expressionless, as if in the middle of deep meditation. Obito just sat there watching him, studying his features. He found himself comparing the image before him now, to the memories he carried of him in his mind. He found that what he really remembered about his sensei was that he was almost always seen smiling. Well, when he was relaxed, and not focusing on something. When he was trying very hard to concentrate and think something through, his face fell into one of absolute calm. Obito always wondered what his sensei was thinking about at those times, but he never asked because he was afraid to disturb him. As he was watching, he noticed his sensei's lips curl into the tiniest hint of a smile. It made him the picture of one who had found absolute peace. _

_Obito felt suddenly compelled to question him. "Sensei…? Um…What are you thinking about?" _

_Bright eyes blinked open and glanced over to regard him. "Are you still here? You're so quiet today. I'd forgotten all about you." A teasing grin replaced the peaceful smile, and then faded to reveal an almost somber expression. "…I was just remembering him." He glanced back over at Obito, as if asking for permission to continue. Obito nodded. "You see, when I come here, I think of him and try to recall all of the ways he made my life better by just knowing him. It helps me be thankful for the time we got to spend…and it helps me not feel sad that he's gone. It hurts to miss him, you see, but when I remember him, it makes me feel happiness again. Do you understand?"_

_Obito nodded that he understood. "I guess I do…" but understanding did not replace his own feelings about the situation, as much as he wanted it to. He wanted to be able to remember Kakashi and feel happiness, but whenever he tried, he felt nothing but horrible pain. He wanted so badly to cry. But he couldn't, he wouldn't. He wanted to be strong…to show respect to his friend. He wouldn't cry. _

"_You know, it's okay to cry if you want. It's just me here, after all. I won't tell anyone."_

"_Uchiha don't cry for lost loved ones. We celebrate their passage into eternity. Kakashi wouldn't want me to cry anyway. He'd laugh at me and tell me I was being stupid."_

"_I see. …Still, if you want to talk about it with me…"_

"_I don't want to talk about it!" Obito bit his tongue, remembering the lectures he'd been given about controlling his weak mouth. "…I'm sorry. …It's just…everything that's happened…and now the Military Police…"_

"_Obito, don't worry about that. I spoke to Uchiha-sama, you won't be questioned further." _

"_It's not just that though. I don't…I don't even know what's happening to me right now…I don't know what's wrong with me…I don't know what to do. I just want…to be left alone, that's all."_

"_Alright then, but remember, I'm here if you need someone to talk to." With that, his sensei stood and started off towards the tree line. After a few steps, he turned and called back to his student. "Hey, I was thinking, since you're obviously feeling better, maybe you and I could do some 'one on one' training sometime. The Jounin selection exams are coming around again soon… I think you've got a good shot."_

"_I don't know…"_

"_Aw come on! It'll be fun! I promise. Besides, it's a little lonely now that Rin is taking instruction from a Medical Specialist. It's just you and me now! And I want to test your Copy Eye! You must be excited now that you can use it!" _

_Obito looked away, embarrassed. He wanted very badly to train exclusively with his sensei, but he wished it could have been under better circumstances. "Sensei…do you know anything about…the other thing? Uchiha-sama…he acted like he knew about it…but I've never even heard of such a thing…"_

"_I'm afraid I haven't. Haven't you tried asking Toriko-chan?"_

"_I tried talking to o-baa-chan about it before…she just said not to trouble myself with it…"_

"_Ah, I see…"_

"_She's been letting me stay above her shop… you know…she worries for me… I hate it. I'm not child anymore..." _

"Obito sensei…?" A voice called from far away.

'_Who?' _

"Sensei? Are you all right?"

'_What's all this? What's happening?'_ A strikingly horrible pain began throbbing in his temples.

"Did something happen to you, sensei?"

Obito grudgingly blinked open an eye to see who was calling to him, and to try to judge just 'what the heck' was going on. His head felt like he'd been hit with the most painful genjutsu possible, and he wasn't quite sure if that was the case or not. It really was quite awful. Where was he again? Upon seeing a pink haired girl in a red dress, sporting a concerned and mildly confused look, reality struck him and he knew the whole of his problem. "Uisuki…unnnghuh…"

"Egh?"

"Sakura…water…please…say you have some…"

"Water…? Oh! Yeah! I do!" She quickly reached into her duffle bag and brought out the bottle she'd packed with her gear. "Here you go sensei."

"I love you." Obito grabbed at the bottle, fumbled with cap, and made quick work of its contents. Sakura stood watching, open mouthed and confused. "Thank you…thank you…Sakura…you're a…goddess…"

"Obito sensei?" Sakura wasn't quite sure what to say. She wasn't expecting to find her new sensei disheveled and sprawled out on the pavement upon reaching their meeting place.

"What are you doing here? You're early." Obito sat up and rubbed his throbbing temples, trying to shake the off the spin of the hangover. He was not looking forward to today. He'd have to think of something, and fast.

"You told us to meet you here at dawn…I couldn't sleep…so I thought I'd come early and practice…um…have you been here all night?"

"No."

"…Oh."

"I was at the bar all night…until they kicked me out…then I came here…I hate this. Why did this have to happen?"

"…Sensei?"

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it. Go ahead and practice. I'll watch."

"Um…okay…sure…that's cool…" '_This is so awkward…' _Sakura wasn't quite sure how to act. It was going to be weird having to practice with her sensei staring at her like he was. "Um…sensei?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I was just wondering…why are you staring at me like that?"

"I'm watching you. You just said it was cool. What are you waiting for? Go ahead and do it. I'll watch. If I see something you could improve upon, I'll point it out."

"Oh! Okay! I guess…" Sakura dropped her gear and headed over to one of training stumps. She focused quietly for a moment, and then began hammering the stump with her fists; every once in a while, she'd throw in a kick for good measure.

"Heh! Not half bad Sakura! Now just try doing that while focusing your chakra to your fists as you hit it. Then you'll start getting some results."

Sakura paused, panting. She took in her sensei's words, trying to grasp the concept of what he was talking about. "Okay, then. I guess I could try it." She paused again to focus her chakra and then continued with her assault. The stump was taking quite a beating now.

"That's better, but you're just hitting it with your chakra now. That will tire you out too quickly. You need to release the chakra exactly when your fist comes into contact with the wood. Then you'll start to do some real damage."

'_Release it as I hit it…Right, I think I could do that.' _Sakura continued hitting the stump, except now she tried pushing her chakra out from her body as her fist made contact with it. She had to admit, this was producing better results than just trying to practice on her own…or with Ino. It was going to be cool to have an exclusive sensei from now on, especially one as 'yummy' as Obito Uchiha. _'I bet Ino is soooo jealous! Her sensei isn't NEAR as cute as Obito sensei!' _Sakura felt like the luckiest girl in the world.

Sasuke was awake for a while but hadn't gotten around to opening his eyes. There was nothing there but blackness. It was nice…no unwanted visuals. It was very nice, a nice long sleep. He felt rested and relaxed. It was so very nice, just awesome. He was in a very good mood, thankful for his blissful rest, and no dreams, just the dark and himself. That was all he truly wanted. He shifted and snuggled his face into his pillow, and breathing a long thankful breath, he smiled. It felt so good to be relaxed. He never wanted to get up. He just wanted to lay there forever and let the soothing blanket of calm wrap around him and comfort him forever. Had a pillow ever been so soft? No. A blanket so warm? Never. Respite was beautiful, and it made everything else beautiful as well, while it lasted. Perhaps he would even be cheerful and pleasant, in thanks for this delightful gift of rest.

Wait a minute. Something wasn't right. _'What happened?'_ He opened his eyes reluctantly, looked around, and found he didn't know where he was. Startled, he shot upright to further examine his surroundings. He was in a dumpy little apartment… _'…Naruto's apartment. Okay, so why am I at Naruto's apartment again?'_ The image of Obito blowing a bunch of dust in his face entered his mind, then nothing. Okay, now that THAT was settled…

Sasuke pushed off his covers and crawled out of the bed. By the looks of the sky, it was probably around 5 AM. It would be dawn soon. He crossed the room and stood above the sleeping figure on the couch, just staring, watching him sleep. _'This is becoming a bad habit.'_ Sasuke couldn't understand why he felt so compelled to look at Naruto. There was nothing particularly special about him, except for his whisker marks. He was as normal as any other guy. _'Damn it.'_ "Naruto. Hey. You should get up." He knelt down and reached his hand out to shake the sleeping boy. "Naruto. Hey. Come on. We have to meet with Obito sensei. Get up or I'll leave you here."

Naruto objected and moaned his disapproval. He was not accustomed to being awakened by anyone. His eyes blinked open and he looked up into blank, dark, pools.

"Come on dobe. Get up. We have to go."

Sasuke's hand was still clamped on his bare shoulder. It was warm, and a bit sweaty. Naruto jerked away and sat up, staring at his 'guest'. Sasuke looked…different…from what he was used to. He didn't look angry, or insane, or irritated, he just looked sleepy, and…what was the word? Calm? Naruto couldn't think of a proper word to describe it, but in the pale blue glow of the early morning, Sasuke had an ethereal quality, almost angelic. _'What the heck am I thinking about?'_ It was too early for such deep thinking.

"What? Stop staring at me…get up and get dressed." Sasuke stood up, folded his arms across his chest, and glared down at the disheveled blonde.

"Ugh…yeah…okay…" _'I wish he'd stop staring at me like that. …Creepy.'_

"What are you waiting for?"

"Oh! Sorry…heh heh…"

"Got anything to eat?"

"Ramen."

"I'll pass."

"So picky…" Naruto stood and hurried across the room. The blanket that was wrapped around his waist got caught when he slammed the bathroom door behind him. He stood in his underwear, leaning against the back of the door. _'Great, now I have to go back out and get my clothes.'_ He quickly dunked his head under the sink and ran the freezing cold water over it, just like any other day. It was weird knowing that his breakfast wouldn't be waiting for him when he got done. He was currently trying not to think about the thing that was really waiting out there for him.

Sasuke simply stood, looking around at the cluttered room. There was a lot for the eye to take in. The walls had been scrawled with what looked like ancient symbols, in bright red paint, and it was dotted with random effigies that had been pinned to it by shuriken and kunai. Not really what he had been expecting. And the piles of clothes on the floor, Sasuke could just smell the reek of blood on them. _'Just when you think you've got someone pegged. Hn.' _

Sasuke approached one of the little 'dolls' and examined it closer. He smiled when he realized what he was looking at. "Naruto," he called, not really loudly, but enough for Naruto to clearly hear him from inside the bathroom.

"What do you want? I'm trying to get ready in here!" The sound of the faucet stopped.

"What's up with this doll out here…by the closet?"

'_Shit!'_ "What doll?"

"The one that says 'Sasuke' and has a kunai through its chest."

'_Damn it!'_ "Oh! That one! Heh heh… Don't be mad…I only stabbed it a couple of times. Frustration, you know?" _'STUPID STUPID STUPID!'_

"Can I have it?"

'_Can he HAVE IT?' _"Sure! Why not? I can just stab you now, if you piss me off…" _'Stupid! Idiot! Baka! What are you thinking about?'_

"Thanks." Sasuke grabbed the kunai and dislodged it from the wall; the little doll came with it. He yanked its body from the blade and casually lifted his shirt to stuff its lower half into his pants pocket. Its raggedy head bobbed limply between its stumpy arms as he walked over to the couch and sat down to continue waiting for Naruto to get out of the bathroom.

Naruto didn't want to come out. He wanted his clothes to be in there with him. He did NOT want to stroll around in his underwear in front of 'Bastard-san' out there. He sure wasn't going to scramble for the blanket to cover himself as if he were some shy girl either. It was his place after all. '_I can walk around as scantily clad as I want to! Damn it!'_ He flung open the door and stepped out into the main room again.

Sasuke just sat there, watching him. The only thing that moved was his eyes as they followed Naruto on his path from the bathroom to the closet to dig up some clothes to put on. Sasuke noticed how efficiently the 'idiot' moved around when he was in a familiar place. He wasn't clumsy at all. He moved with a grace that Sasuke had only glimpsed before. It was as if he was an entirely different person than he let on when among other people. Sasuke was intrigued.

Naruto had to force himself not to turn and look at the ghost-like figure that he knew was watching his every move. He avoided his thoughts and dug around searching for something acceptable to wear for training, since Sasuke had bloodied his last orange jacket yesterday. He'd have to settle for the one Obito gave him. At least it had lots of pockets. That was a plus. It was a bit big, but would fit him okay, he guessed. If he removed the sleeves, that is. He tugged at the zipper that held the right sleeve on and freed it, then repeated the action with the left. Suddenly, he realized that he was still without proper clothing. He glanced up at Sasuke. Sure enough, that bastard was staring at him again. "What?"

"What?"

"Why are you DOING THAT?"

"What?"

"LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!" Naruto was, of course, talking about the faint red glow of chakra that was being emitted by Sasuke's Sharingan. It freaked him out. The dull blue light cast by the predawn sun wasn't helping to make Sasuke look any less creepy, and Naruto's keen eyesight didn't help either. The vision of Sasuke right then, was the stuff of nightmares. Motionless, and decked out in all black, Sasuke looked like some kind of creature waiting in the darkness of terrible dreams. He was strangely compelling to look at, yet horrifying at the same time. _'I'm supposed to be the big scary DEMON, and this guy freaks ME out?' _"Look, it's really weird trying to get dressed with you sitting there staring at me like that. Could you like, look out the window or something?"

Sasuke blinked a couple of times and the light faded from his eyes. They were back to their usual, 'black as sin'. He didn't look away though, he persisted in his observation. "So what's up with your chakra?"

"What?" Naruto asked as he reached for the shirt he'd discarded a few hours ago while he was tossing and turning, trying to sleep. "I told you I can't talk about it."

"Yeah, but that was before I knew what you are. So, why don't you just tell me?"

"Why is it important to you? Why do you care?"

"I can see it."

"What?"

"Your chakra. My eyes can see it. I was checking it out before. No big deal."

"You can see my chakra?" Again becoming conscious of his half-nakedness, Naruto promptly pulled his tee shirt over his head. It wasn't exactly fresh and clean, but it would do for training.

"Yeah."

He didn't really know how to reply. "Well…what does it look like?"

"It's weird. I've looked at some other people using Sharingan, and they don't have chakra like yours."

"That doesn't answer my question." His orange pants had thankfully faired better than his jackets, and it was easy for him to find a pair of those to throw on.

"Peoples chakra patterns usually flow into the body from the outside, and yours does too, but your chakra is blue …and red chakra leaks out from the inside of that seal. How does that work?"

"It's demon chakra."

"The Nine Tailed Fox, right?"

"Yeah that's right."

"So, how's that happen?"

"How does what happen?"

"How do you have demon chakra living inside you and mixing with your chakra? How did that happen? I already know that Yondaime-sama sealed it and died, but that's it. Why?"

"Look, I don't know. I don't know anything about Sealing if that's what you want to know."

"That wasn't what I was asking, but since you said that…" Sasuke cocked an eyebrow at Naruto and casually motioned to the spattering of paint on the wall behind him.

"Oh that." Naruto narrowed his eyes at his guest. "That's about all I know. Those are the instructions on how to perform Kage Bunshin. It's what I can remember from when I saw the Scroll of…" _'Ooops…I probably shouldn't talk about that…shit.' _

"You saw the original spell for Kage Bunshin? And you could read it? Who taught you how to do that? They don't just teach Academy students how to read ancient script. Yet, you seem to be able to replicate it very well."

"Ugh…well…I don't know…I never really thought about it before… I just can, I guess."

"You're telling me that no one ever taught you how to do Kage Bunshin, or how to read ancient script…but you learned how to do Kage Bunshin by reading it…off the Scroll of Sealing! How the HELL did you ever get your hands on the forbidden scroll? They guard it constantly!"

'_Damn it! Sasuke certainly is a persistent bastard.'_ "It wasn't so hard. Those guys just kind of …um…fell under my spell." He laughed at the memory of seducing and tying up the guards. "Heh heh heh…"

"What's that supposed to mean? What did you do to them?" Sasuke was thinking more along the lines of 'Demon' Naruto ripping them into many pieces, he wasn't prepared for the reply that he got.

"I used Orioke no Jutsu."

"…You turned into that woman? The one you used on Iruka sensei?" Sasuke was in shock at the thought of the things Naruto could have done to the guards, now that he knew that information.

"Haha! Yeah. But I don't have to just turn into HER though. I can pretty much take any form I want. The joys of using Henge no Jutsu to its fullest potential, I guess..." He smiled smugly at his persistent guest and chuckled to himself about the look on the boy's face now.

"I guess…"

"So can you see it?"

"See what?"

"The instructions on how to perform Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, it's right there!" Naruto turned and pointed to the scrawl that now graced the length of his wall. "Learn how to do it."

"How am I supposed to learn from that? I can't even read it."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow at his guest, "You know…that's my problem with you right there. You're spoiled."

"What? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, you don't have to work for anything. It just comes naturally to you since you're just soooo perfect. All you do is run around and play with knives and act rude to people, and they all just LOVE you because you're Sasuke Uchiha…and YOU are too busy brooding over your screwed up existence to notice anything that doesn't concern anyone but yourself. That's my problem with you. So what's your problem with me?"

"First of all, fuck you, Dead Last. You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

"Really? How's that?"

"Listen to me very closely; my brother murdered every single person in the entire world that I ever cared about… and he left me with the beautiful memory… of being horribly, mentally, raped. I'm very sorry if I don't give a shit about my behavior for the past couple of years… but, you see, I really wasn't feeling much except the striking need to kill him. Believe me, when I say that I'm trying to adjust. And I don't have problem with you! You're the one who keeps picking fights with me!"

"…I wasn't picking a fight! I was just trying to find out if you could actually learn something without having to copy it!"

"Yeah, that would be no problem, if I knew how to read ancient script, but I don't. That's why I was wondering how YOU learned how to read the ancient script that YOU copied from the forbidden scroll!"

'_Damn it!'_ Sasuke had point. Naruto was getting tired of this conversation. "I don't know how I learned it! I just remember how!"

"Is that so? Well, since you already know how to do Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, then why don't you just show it to me, and I'll already know how you do it by the time you get done. Wouldn't that be easier?"

Naruto accepted his defeat. "I really do hate you, you know that?" He formed the seals for his technique and focused all his energy on making his clones. In a puff of smoke, eight clones stood about the small apartment, each identical to the original, 4 on either side. They moved around the room to peer at their guest from all angles. To Sasuke's surprise, all eight clones spoke out in unison with Naruto, "So do you understand how to do Kage Bunshin now?"

Sasuke didn't know what to say. He had seen the jutsu being performed, and now understood how to perform it, but the amount of chakra that Naruto mixed to compose each clone was incredible! He wasn't quite sure how he'd manage to pull off summoning THAT much chakra to perform it! He gazed at each clone and examined its composition with great interest. _'Naruto is…strong…very strong…'_ "Naruto…this jutsu…" Looking closely at the clone that was now perched on the opposite side of the couch, examining HIM, he realized he didn't have to ask how Naruto was able to perform it so easily. His eyes wandered down to the clone's midsection. Without any warning, he reached out and lifted its shirt to confirm his suspicion for himself. He was right. Naruto had apparently divided all of his chakra into making each of the eight clones, including the 'demon' chakra. Each clone, he guessed from examining the one, had red chakra bleeding out from the seal on his belly.

"Hey! Get your hands off my clone!" Naruto rushed over and pulled his clone off the couch then stood it up to face him. The clone laughed, scratching its head. Naruto gave it funny look and turned back towards Sasuke. "Look, see! They aren't like regular Bunshin! They're real bodies!" He tapped his hand lightly on the clones face in a mock slap. The clone grunted and pushed his hand away. "Heh! But they don't take damage so you have to be 'gentle' with them or they will disappear. I guess they are sort of like hollow shells or something. See, since they are the same as me, they think and act like I do…kind of like…an extension of myself…my own little army." He reached out and petted his clone on its head. The clone smiled and sighed as if embarrassed, then shoved the hand away again. Naruto returned the gesture by grabbing the clone by its throat. He squeezed, just a tiny bit and continued his explanation. "They are pretty sturdy, so they can fool people who touch them, but like I said before…" he squeezed harder, until his nails dug into the flesh. The clones face twisted in pain and it clutched at the choking arm. "But if you get to rough with one of them…" Then, when the pressure of Naruto's grip was too much for it to withstand, it popped, and faded away in puff of smoke. "You could, um, kill it." Naruto paused and chuckled to himself. "See? Now you try!"

Sasuke did as he was told, but was only able to summon 3 clones. Naruto, all eight of him, rolled his eyes and smirked, but Sasuke didn't see him. He was too busy examining his own Kage Bunshin. They freaked him out. He didn't like looking at them. In fact, if he'd had a kunai right then, he would have stabbed every one of them, but he was squeamish to touch them with his bare hands like Naruto had just done. Seeing his own appearance in them made him feel sick. His own face frightened him.

"I bet you feel a lot weaker now don't you?"

Naruto's question startled Sasuke, causing him to flinch. He turned from his clones to the questioner. Thinking about it, he realized that he was feeling a lot weaker, as far as his chakra was concerned. "Yeah. It's because my chakra has been quartered, right?"

"Heh! You really are smart after all! Yeah, the cool thing is, since the clones don't take damage, when they disappear, you get your chakra back. Well, except for the amount it took to cast the jutsu…but you get the idea."

"So that's why you were able to fight me all day…I wasn't even hurting you with my attacks."

"Heh. Nope. All I had to do was sit back and watch."

"How do I make them go away?"

"What, you don't want to kill them?"

"…" Sasuke was not amused by Naruto's joke.

"Whatever, just summon your chakra back into yourself."

Sasuke did as he was told and the clones vanished. He still felt weakened though. The amount of chakra needed to perform the jutsu was more than he expected it would be, even though he knew it was it was a high level spell.

Naruto noticed that the room had brightened considerably during their conversation. "Shit. We should get going." He released his clones and finished getting ready. Sasuke mulled about whatever he 'mulled about' while waiting for him. Upon heading for the door, a thought occurred to Naruto. "Hey, ugh, why don't you have shoes?"

"I wasn't wearing any when Obito sensei kidnapped me and brought me here. Oh well."

Naruto thought for a moment. "Why did Obito…"

"Don't ask. It doesn't matter."

"Fine. Okay. Whatever." He handed over his sandals to his guest. "Here."

Sasuke was taken off guard. "What?"

"I don't like wearing 'em anyway. They should fit."

"You want me…to wear these? Why?"

"Aren't we supposed to be a team now? We can share. Obito sensei is probably going to make us do some kind of training…and you don't even have any weapons. Anyway, I'm used to the forest floor on my feet. I just thought it would be better if you at least had the shoes. That's all. Come on. Let's get going." Naruto crossed the room and headed out the door.

"Right… Sure…" Sasuke graciously accepted the other boy's offer. However, he would have traded the shoes for one of Naruto's weapons any day, but oh well. At least he had shoes. That would have to be good enough. He slipped the sandals onto his feet and headed out the door after Naruto.

THE END! For now anyway…

Okay…this is what I get for trying to 'omit' Japanese words from a Japanese word using story:

Some of you may have taken notice that I've included the "affectionate title" 'Dobe' to my collection of words…this is because my beta, MT, slapped me and told me that I was being a stubborn bitch. (((not literally, but I have my own weird way of interpreting things…sue me.))) Of course, I agreed with her. Also, I have decided that I no longer care about the usage of Japanese words, and since I myself prefer them, I will also be using –san, -sama (yeah I know I already used these…I was trying to avoid having to use them…but at the time I felt it was necessary so I did it anyway), -kun, and OMG (I've been beating myself in the face for not using…) –chan. So there. Now I have to go back and change the whole friggin' thing to be consistent. That's okay, I was going to do it anyway. Thank you very much MultifacetedTune, for your assistance in my endeavor. You are the worlds finest! (((Chapter 1 came out smashing BTW! You did a great job! Fucking Smashing!)))

Damn it! Now I feel compelled to address my issue with that particular word. (((Dobe, I mean.))) I have only heard (in the show) Sasuke call Naruto "dobe" a couple of times at most. The major time being when he is assigned to team 7 in the third episode/third chapter of manga, and THAT was only because Iruka said that Naruto was "dobe", meaning that he scored the lowest and was in fact "dead last" in the class. I decided to use the term "Dead Last" because I liked the play on the words…what can I say, I'm weird. In any case, in the scanlated versions of the manga (not Viz) I can't recall a time when I actually saw the word 'dobe' used. Damn it now I have to go into "the archives" and look just to be sure… WooHOO! My memory is correct! (((OMG! THAT IS MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE CHAPTER OF ALL TIME! Squeals with joy ))) YAY! I'm so glad that I went back and read it again…ahem

Iruka sensei to Naruto: "Sasuke's grades were the highest of all twenty seven graduates… Naruto…You were dead last (((in the anime he screams DOBE!)))…We have to do this to balance the teams, do you understand?"

Sasuke to Naruto: "Bah. Just don't get in my way. Dead Last."

Naruto to Sasuke: "What did you just call me!"

Sakura to Naruto: "Give it a rest, Naruto!"

That little section of dialogue has been brought to you by whoever scanlated chapter 3 of the manga, and has been repeated to you, verbatim, by me, DeadUchiha. That was why I didn't use Dobe in the first place. But now, since everyone seems to like it so much, (((yes MT, I do think it's cuter than Dead Last.))) and this is the realm of fan fiction after all, I'm going to use it. And I'm going to go back and put it in when I go back and add all the other things I foolishly omitted. Like mother fucking "Sakura-CHAN!" What the fuck was I thinking when I did that? This was the only (Naruto) story I ever wrote that I DIDN'T use "Sakura-chan" in. I'm so ashamed…

Also, I don't think I am going to treat "Inner Sakura" as a separate entity. I think it would be better to just express her existence as Sakura's thoughts, since really, that's all she is.

Another silly note out of, seemingly, nowhere:

In the 'Toriyama World' translation of the Manga (the early chapters, when Jiraiya first teaches Naruto how to summon) It says that Naruto's Chakra is YELLOW, the Anime however, decided that Naruto's chakra was blue…I guess. I wish I had a raw scan of that chapter so I could see the actual word that Naruto uses to describe his "chakra colors". The yellow makes more sense to me, like yellow and red make orange?…but I'm just going to stick with his chakra being blue…hence the "weird indigo/violet tone" his eyes sometimes take in this story…(I sooo wanted to make his chakra be yellow pictures a orange eyed Naruto foaming at the mouth getting ready to kick the shit out of somebodyHANAJI! …I'm sure someone would have pointed out that it was supposed to be blue though…) Oh well, end fun fact.

My moment of bitching:

Damn it all to the fiery pits of the everlasting inferno! WHY? Why did the anime have to use the name "Arashi" for some dumb ass, lame, non-existing, add-in character! I was gunna use that name! Damn it! Now I don't wanna anymore! Fuck! Now what the heck am I supposed to do? It would be friggin' impossible to come up with another name as cool as that, and I can't just keep avoiding it either! CRIES! if anyone has a solution for my dilemma…I will gladly listen. FUCK!

NEXT TIME:

The gangs all here. It's time to learn about survival. What will Obito have to say about the subject? And what about that whole 'training with the bells' thing? Will Obito's hangover affect his ability to defend the bells? Will Sasuke get the "Inner Decapitation Technique" used on him? Will Sakura flip out and be useless? Will Naruto get tied to the stump? And wasn't Obito supposed to introduce the kids to someone? OMG! What's gunna happen? crickets

P.S. Reviewers: Thank you all for your gracious time spent reviewing! I love hearing from people! And thanks for being so patient with me. I needed to resolve some issues…heh.


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